Naked Beauty

I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Zambia with my husband, son, and growing baby, and I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by all the beauty I saw. In this beauty dispatch from Zambia, you'll hear about the beauty insights I gained, from marveling at the local wildlife and skincare traditions to making Mongongo oil with the Booma Women’s Cooperative and of course, shopping in the local mar...

Trigger warning: We discuss emotional and physical abuse in this episode.  In Part Two of our conversation with Jackie Aina, Sir John and I learned even more about what drives her. Jackie shared how she learned to enforce boundaries with her huge online community of supporters and how to engage with difficult topics. This led to an incredible discussion of her survival story, how her experien...

Sir John and I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jackie Aina, the original YouTube It Girl turned entrepreneur and advocate. For the past 15 years Jackie has shaped conversations about Black women in beauty on every major social media platform. In part one of our conversation we talked to Jackie about what inspired her to create content initially and how having a presence online has changed ov...

I had the incredible opportunity to partner with Shiseido for a live conversation with everyone’s favorite triple threat, Kelly Rowland and Face Architect Joomee Song. During Shiseido’s inaugural Benefiance retreat, we talked everything beauty, business, travel, and motherhood. We had such a great time talking about our respective visits to Japan, our approaches to aging, and of course our first i...

The Naked Beauty fragrance is finally here! Over the course of the last 10 years, I’ve been experimenting with creating my own fragrances, mixing essential oils until I found blends that I loved. Now, many years later, my very first fragrance, Naked Beauty has finally launched, and I wanted to give you an in-depth look at what it took to make the fragrance. From smelling over 15 different iteratio...

"If you're not getting nos, you're not challenging yourself to your full potential." Last month, Sir John and I had a great live show in Beverly Hills. As a Cancer and a Leo, this time of year naturally brings reflection for both of us, and we went deep during the live show! The energy in the room was amazing, and the conversation was so incredible that Sir John and I knew we had to bring these to...

In my follow-up conversation with Amy Koberling PA, The Skinthusiast, we talked about all things pregnancy skincare. The conversation covered our experiences with pregnancy myths about products, skincare treatments, and even food. Amy shared her professional opinions about why expecting moms don’t need brand new skincare routines, dietary books she recommends for those who are trying or expecting,...

Over the course of 18 packed hours, I shadowed the ambitious and energetic Sabrina Elba for 54 Magazine. When 54 reached out and asked me to write the cover story on Sabrina and her award-winning S'ABLE Labs brand I knew I had to do it, despite having never written a cover story before. In less than 24 hours, Sabrina and I did pilates, tested lab samples, met with her woman-led team, and danced th...

When I met Amy Koberling aka The Skinthusiast, I knew I had to have her on the podcast to talk about what we should really be paying attention to when buying skincare. During our conversation, Amy dispelled some common beauty myths and misunderstandings about popular ingredients from benzoyl peroxide to vitamin C. Our conversation covered trends in skincare marketing, overhyped and underhyped prod...

In this week’s episode, Sir John and I sat down to chat about what it means to be Summertime Fine mentally and physically. Our conversation included a very special announcement from Brooke, thoughts on how we recharge after major events, and our favorite eye looks on Black women. Sir John shared some tips on elevating any look with custom grills and gave details on his innovative guide to contouri...

In this rerun of one of my favorite episodes, I sat down with TikTok queen herself, Tefi. Estefania Pessoa AKA Tefi is the best friend, cultural commentator, and skinfluencer we all needed during COVID-19, and if you have yet to come across her name on TikTok you are truly missing out. Tune in as we discuss her takes on both the toxicity and joy of Y2K beauty culture, growing up as a half-Colombia...

“At the top of the list of what you need to know about Tanner Adell is she is glam country, it's definitely a defining feature for me.” For our second episode together, Sir John and I sat down with someone we feel is truly blazing her own trail and looking incredible doing it: Tanner Adell. This year alone she's walked her first red carpet, presented an award at the CMT’s, and had her first-ever t...

Tune in for a LIVE conversation with the one and only Jenna Lyons. From her trendsetting tenure at J. Crew to her candid conversations about her relationship to beauty on Real Housewives of New York  Jenna’s authenticity is undeniable. During our conversation, we discussed her commitment to fostering diversity in the fashion industry and what she’s learned about herself since founding Lovesee...

After spending the past year developing my own fragrance, I’ve become obsessed with learning more about the process of developing fragrance. Maya Njie, an artist and self-taught perfumer, was the perfect person to dive deep on fragrance with. During our conversation Maya and I explored the scent composition of some of her top perfumes while discussing how significant her family history has been in...

While speaking with Charlotte Mensah, she shared her expertise in caring for Afro-textured hair, with products, tools, and styling recommendations. Charlotte also revealed how significant it was for her to grow up surrounded by family, having her hair done and styling it for others. Our conversation illuminated her decision to develop the Curl Power Workshop, an annual haircare and hairstyling eve...

Charlotte Mensah, the first Black woman inducted into the British Hairdressing Hall of Fame, once turned her kitchen into a laboratory to develop products for her clients. Raised in her grandparent's Ghanian compound, Charlotte was exposed to her grandmother’s boundless creativity and her grandfather’s corporate acumen. Unsurprisingly, she harnessed their wisdom and built an award-winning career i...

Another edition of beauty rant and beauty rave, including a hot take about luxury skincare and my recently acquired membership to LA's Erewhon and why I was so reluctant to join the cult of this hyped upscale grocer. Tune in to hear my thoughts on: How clinical research and development separates luxury brands from competitors  The question of whether or not a product is 'worth it' What a cons...

Tune in for a rerun of one of my favorite Naked Beauty episodes with Charlotte Palermino, co-founder of Dieux Skin and self-proclaimed skincare fairy godmother. This episode was all about unpacking and debunking ALL of the beauty rules that so many of us subscribe to. From daily exfoliation, to DIY skincare, to beauty regulations, there’s a lot to get into!  Link to Products Mentioned:  ...

We need to process together! Last week, we all heard the iconic Ms. Tina Knowles bless the Naked Beauty podcast with her wisdom, wit, life, and beauty knowledge. On this episode, Sir John and I sit back and unpack our takeaways from that intimate conversation. Tune in to hear all of the behind-the-scenes details, what resonated with us most, how Ms. Tina inspires both of us, and how it felt to int...

Ms. Tina has been infusing bold and beautiful Texas style into global pop culture for decades. Sir John and I talked to Ms. Tina about her successful career as a stylist, her beauty regimen, building Cécred, and the significance of early exposure to images of Black beauty and power. We learned how she carries her mother's lessons about honoring creativity in yourself and your children. She told us...

Excited to share that the multi-talented Sir John will be joining me as our new Naked Beauty co-host. We’ll be doing a limited six-episode series in which we interview guests who are impacting the culture and delve into their life stories and POV on beauty and self-expression. Please join us in giving Sir John a warm welcome to the Naked Beauty Community! See me Live in NY 5/20  ( limited tic...

It is almost time for the most iconic Monday of the year, the Met Gala. This week I spoke with several talented people in the beauty industry about their Met Gala prep, red carpet predictions, and what happens behind the scenes to make the magical event happen. Master hairstylists Nikki Nelms and Jawara Wauchope gave insight into how they build trust with clients like Janelle Monae, Solange, and P...

Cyndia Harvey is the force behind some of the most iconic hairstyles in luxury runway and editorial campaigns. From lace baby hair at Mugler to screen-filling curls for Jacquemus, Cyndia takes creative risks because she knows that trusting the process always leads to success. During our conversation, Cyndia talked about cultivating this radical sense of self and trust by giving herself exactly wha...

Tarek Ali is no stranger to sharing his healing and trauma with the world. Tarek has been creating content online for over a decade as a YouTuber, advocate, author, writer, and healer. In a radically vulnerable approach to engaging online, Tarek’s audience has journeyed with him as he healed relationships with others and himself. This week we sat down to discuss how his initial goal of being seen,...

Kendra Bracken-Ferguson knows that Black beauty brands and their founders need capital and community to circumvent systemic racism at the heart of venture capital funding. As the Founder and CEO of Braintrust Founders Studio Kendra uses her experience identifying talent and innovation to provide companies the support they require to succeed. In this episode, Karen and I explore how her legacy of b...