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Aurora James, founder of the luxury brand Brother Vellies + the 15 Percent Pledge joins PRETTYSMART to share stories, lessons from her new memoir "Wildflower." She shares: Her memoir "Wildflower" and the story behind the title. Why fashion was a unifier in her house growing up. The crucial life lesson her mom taught her at a very young age. Why identity is complicated for her and why it inspired h...

Grammy Award–winning artist Kelly Rowland and educator Jessica McKay join the podcast to talk about motherhood and share their children's book Always with You, Always with Me. They discuss: The inspiration behind the book and the struggles of being a working mom. Why representation in books and media is so important (and what happens when there is a lack of it). Mom guilt and how they work through...

Author Angela Garbes joins the pod today to dive deep into her book "Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change" and discusses the economic, political and ideological systems that have shaped the way our society sees care work. She shares: Why care work and mothering is so undervalued in American society. How lack of compensation for care workers is a uniquely American problem. Mothering as a ver...

Worried about a friend? Or unsure of how to support someone going through a hard time? In honor Mental Health Awareness month, Danielle partnered with LaurelBox to create a free digital download to help us connect with and support friends going through a hard time. Here are 15 Questions: FREE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: HTTPS://WWW.LAURELBOX.COM/PRODUCTS/GRIEF-SUPPORT-GUIDE-FREE-DIGITAL-DOWNLOAD Laurel Box...

Danielle Prescod is the author of the bestselling book Token Black Girl and cofounder of 2BG Consulting which aims to help fashion and beauty brands and influencers on their anti-racism journeys. Before she moved out of NYC to New Orleans and published her book, she was a fifteen-year veteran of the beauty and fashion industry, most recently the style director of BET.com and previously held positi...

Hollywood stylist and co-founder of "The Period Company," Karla Welch joins PRETTYSMART to share her journey as both a stylist to the stars and as an entrepreneur. She shares: How she went from working in restaurants to working in fashion. Why she believes she's always surrounded by a little bit of magic (and how that mindset has helped her). The stories behind some of the iconic looks she's creat...

Steph Jagger is a bestselling author, life coach, and speaker. Her grandmother had dementia and her mother, early onset Alzheimer's. Steph says "my biggest fear is the fact that I live inside of a lineage of forgetfulness. I don't want to forget. I want to remember." We spend decades building a life and wanting to remember it all. We save photos, we take home movies. In her new memoir Everything L...

April Showers is the first female, Black-owned business to own a licensed character brand in a major retailer. She is the creator of Afro Unicorn, a brand designed to represent the uniqueness of women and children of color in a truly diverse and inclusive fashion, selling apparel and accessories to toys, puzzles, books and more. Today she shares: How karma played a huge role in her success. What i...

World Renowned Psychic Medium and Best-Selling Author Rebecca Rosen joins PRETTYSMART to talk about her new book, "What's Your Heaven: 7 Lessons to Heal the Past and Live Fully Now." She shares: 3 tangible ways to raise your vibe + frequency. The one major thing that might be blocking you from manifesting the things you want. How to tell the difference between intuition + anxious mind thoughts. Wh...

Adriana Carrig founded the original word bracelet– Little Words Project. What started in her parents basement has now grown to 40 employees, 7 locations, and huge brand collaborations with companies like Nike, Barbie, WNBA, Dunkin Donuts. Just like so many great companies, Adriana's was started from pain– she was bullied as a young person and wanted to inject the world with some more kindness. Alt...

Why do women cheat? Author, journalist, podcast host of the new series She Wants More, Jo Piazza tries to uncover the truth behind women's infidelity. Danielle and Jo listen to several clips of women's stories of affairs and discuss: Why is women's Infidelity is on the rise? The 4 different types of affairs Why women cheat vs. why men cheat: does Jo agree with Esther Perel's hypothesis: "men cheat...

What happens WHEN WOMEN LEAD? What are the key commonalities of female leaders who thrived in spite of the challenges? Can some of your weaknesses actually trun into your greatest strengths? CNBC's Senior Media & Tech Correspondent Julia Boorstin wrote a book about it. She spoke with more than 120 female leaders, from Goop's Gwyneth Paltrow, Bumble's Whitney Wolfe Herd, Jenn Hyman (Rent The Runway...

How do you get to where you want to go—the dream job, the dream life? That's a big question we all ask ourselves. We know WHERE we want to go, but don't always know HOW to get there. Via engaging stories of some of the most successful people in the world as well as practical advice from Matt's own successes and failures, this book shows you how to win. The title speaks to a major theme in the book...

With 1.6 Million followers, TikTok star Tefi Pessoa has built a community where she has become famous for her thoughtful and heartfelt advice on love, mental health, heartbreak and more. There's a reason she's been called the internet's BFF. Today she joins PRETTYSMART to delve deep into all things love, dating and heartbreak. She shares: Why men are who they are at 35. What she's learned from hea...

We often frame modern relationships through a transactional lens, but what if instead of concerning ourselves with what we can get from somebody we ask ourselves what we can give ? Rachel Rischall believes generosity for generosity's sake is ultimately the best way to form strong, valuable relationships. A 20-year vet in public relations, Rachel is the founder of Three PR (she's an EXPERT). She sa...

After this interview aired I got messages from women all over the country. It seemed to have a domino effect inspiring book clubs, and other interviews with Alicia! Her book changed me and it gave me so much joy to hear that this conversation changed so many of you too. As it was one of the earliest episodes of the pod I felt it deserved a re-air: Award Winning Journalist + MSNBC Anchor Alicia Men...

LANGUAGE + POWER, GENDER, RACE: Linguist and writer Amanda Montell is here to discuss reclaiming gendered insults, cursing, women's linguistic innovation, sexism in our language and owning your own voice. She is the author of two critically acclaimed books, Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language and Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism She is also a creator and host of the h...

Co-Founder of Betches, the hugely popular female-founded and led media and entertainment brand, Sami Sage is here to share her story from how Betches went from an idea one night in college to a full blown media company. She shares: How to start a company with friends Where the idea for Betches came from and what it was like in the early days of the brand. Why they have never taken money from inves...

Actor, dancer, choreographer and star of the hit Starz drama P-Valley, Nicco Annan is bringing his magic to PRETTYSMART today. The Detroit-born actor refused to conform to a Hollywood template and instead has made a name for himself by embracing his individuality and following his intuition. His portrayal of Uncle Clifford (the revolutionary + beloved character) has earned him critical acclaim as...

As the Editor-In-Chief of Cosmopolitan, the largest young women's media brand in the world, Jessica Giles oversees the editorial for all of Cosmo's efforts across print, digital, video, and emerging platforms. Today she's sharing her journey in the publishing industry and offers up helpful and practical advice to help you get to where you dream of being in your own career. She shares: 3 specific t...

Mimi Bouchard is a meditation teacher, wellness influencer, and founder of Superhuman App. Listen to this walking meditation (and conversation with Mimi) to manifest the energy of your future— "you are a lucky person". See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2017, the former US Surgeon General called loneliness a public health epidemic. It's been compared to a crisis on the scale of opioids or obesity. Some studies equate the health effects of loneliness with that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Julie Schechter is helping to fight the loneliness epidemic. She is the CEO and co-founder of Present and Small Packages , two companies focused on buildin...

Love Wellness founder + former star of Laguna Beach and The Hills Lo Bosworth is here to share her wellness journey and how it inspired her to help others do the same. She shares: -Where do our 'happy hormones" come from? -The chronic health problems she faced + how it took 18 months for her to get a proper diagnosis. -How healing her gut healed her anxiety, depression and many other health issues...

Atsuko Okatsuka is a standup comedian who was named one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch in 2022 by Variety. Her hilarious videos on social media have garnered her millions of views and her HBO special premieres on December 10th. Today she joins the pod and shares: What it was like living immigrating from Japan and living in a garage with her mom and grandma from age 10-17. How an earthquake helped h...

Marcy Blum and Jess Conroy have each revolutionized the wedding industry in their own exceptional ways. Marcy is an internationally sought-after event planner and entertaining expert with 30 years of experience throwing innovative and ground-breaking events. Jess is the founder and CEO of Carats & Cake, a financial operating system created for the events industry. These women each have tackled a d...