By Cierra Black · Updated November 3, 2024

Beautycon LA is back in all of its glitz and colorful glamor. The 2024 convention kicked off on a hazy Saturday morning in the heart of West LA. Split between the Main Stage and the Beauty School Stage, a host of expert panels, demonstrations, masterclasses, and more ensued. Across the venue brand activations and techni-colored beauty box photo opps decorated the space, offering a wealth of options for attendees to engage with. 

The Somos My Era panel set the tone on the main stage for a community-first day. Afro-Latina creators Monica Veloz and Iris Beilin sat with Raquel Reichard, Deputy Director of R29 Somos, to discuss embracing beauty through the evolving eras of their lives and how their cultures inform their outlooks.

Creators Lane panelists discuss the importance of balancing organic and sponsored content to cultivate trust with their digital communities, while the Influencer Management panel across the venue brought Digital Brand Architects to the stage to share advice on navigating the creator industry. 

From audience tarot card readings with Alicia Brayboy to expert tips on properly layering SPF into your makeup routine, from makeup artist and Ciele founder Nikki DeRoest, attendees delighted in a holistic beauty experience. 

For HairTok 101, ESSENCE Senior Beauty Editor Akili King sat down with hair experts to take a closer look at intentional hair care across textures and types. The former included content creator Dana Patterson and Julissa Prado, founder of Rizos Curls, who converse about the science behind acidic haircare and pH-informed routines. Following this, King led the Inside Mielle panel with Mielle founder and CEO Monique Rodriguez. Rodriguez touched on understanding purpose, boundaries, and alignment as a successful business owner. 

Refinery 29 Beauty Director Sara Tan, and co-host Kirby Johnson, stepped into the podcast booth for a live taping of her popular beauty podcast Gloss Angeles featuring guest Lili Reinhart. 

Tan then took to the stage once more for a conversation with the co-founders, Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Ireland, of the internet’s favorite beauty brand Summer Fridays. 

The Masterclasses of the day included “Hair Me Out” and “Elevate Your Makeup Game,” led by celebrity hairstylist Justine Marjan and beauty artist Mitchell Halliday, respectively. Marjan demonstrated how to achieve voluminous curls and a frizz free, knot-bun updo. Eyes were glued to the stage for Mitchell Halliday’s makeup masterclass on full face beats.

The Beauty School Stage expanded the notions of beauty through self-care and cheat codes. Raquel Reichard sat down with therapist and author Oludara Adeeyo to discuss what self care looks like for women of color, and how they can step away from the “superwoman syndrome” that leads to emotional fatigue and burnout. Adeeyo’s advice to women: “get real before you can heal.” R29 Unbothered’s Sandy Pierre chatted beauty cheat codes with celebrity stylist Ivy Coco who shared her wisdom comes from her mother and grandmother. 

The day concluded with an uplifting conversation between Latina creators Mariale Marrero, Luann Diez, and Amanda Diaz, moderated by Fashion and Beauty Editor Stephanie Montes. They discussed authenticity, heritage, and career building. After an educational and product-filled day, attendees walked away from Beautycon Day One with newfound excitement for the beauty world and an eagerness to head into Day Two. 

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By Larry Stansbury · Updated October 29, 2024

Let’s take it back to when Ross started her acting career in the early 2000s. The American Fiction actress sported her curls at the 2004 BET Awards. The following year, she did it again, letting her hair out, in full volume, at the UPN series Second Time Around Launch Party. 

Over the years, she’s continued to wear her curls, but eventually began exploring new styles—voluminous blowouts and braids included. Almost a decade later, she rocked cornrows with a nude lipstick at the 2010 InStyle Magazine Post-Golden Globes Party. She put her hair in a bun, and finished her look with a bold eyeliner and red lipstick, at the 2014 American Music Awards. In 2016, she was found in two pigtail braids at the 2016 Nordic State Dinner. Lastly, she rocked a long ponytail with a signature red lipstick at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. 

In honor of her 52nd birthday today, look back at Ms. Ross’ inspiring hair moments over the years. 

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01 Tracee Ellis Ross at The Diversity Awards

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02 2004 BET Awards – Arrivals

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03 “The September Issue” Los Angeles Special Screening – Arrivals

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04 35th Annual NAACP Image Awards – Arrivals

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05 Bvlgari Store Grand Opening In Beverly Hills

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06 ELLE Celebrates 25 Years and The Launch Of ELLEments Of Personal Style – Red Carpet

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07 InStyle Magazine Hosts Fourth Annual Post-Golden Globes Party to Honor Hollywood’s Elite – Arrivals

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08 2002 Essence Awards – Arrivals

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09 Family Jewels Inc. Launch Party

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10 Glamour Magazine’s Pre-Primetime Emmy Awards Party Hosted by Editor-in-Chief Bonnie Fuller

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11 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards – Press Room

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12 3rd Annual TV Guide Awards – Arrivals

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13 Women In Film 2014 Crystal + Lucy Awards

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14 Women In Film’s 6th Annual Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party – Arrivals

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15 “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” – Los Angeles Premiere – Arrivals

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16 8th Annual Television Academy Honors – Arrivals

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17 16th Annual AFI Awards – Arrivals

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18 47th NAACP Image Awards – Arrivals

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19 President Obama Hosts Nordic Leaders For State Dinner

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20 Vanity Fair Campaign Hollywood Young Hollywood Party Sponsored By Fiat – Arrivals

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21 2016 BET Awards – Arrivals

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22 23rd Annual ELLE Women In Hollywood Awards – Arrivals

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23 Tracee Ellis Ross Prepares For The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards

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24 Glamour Women Of The Year 2016 – Arrivals

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25 48th NAACP Image Awards Nominees’ Luncheon – Arrivals

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26 23rd Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards – Arrivals

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27 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards – Arrivals

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28 Charles Finch And Chanel Pre-Oscar Awards Dinner At Madeo in Beverly Hills

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29 24th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards – Arrivals

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30 29th Annual Producers Guild Awards – Arrivals

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31 Women In Film 2017 Crystal + Lucy Awards Presented By Max Mara And BMW – Arrivals

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32 10th Annual LACMA ART+FILM GALA Presented By Gucci

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33 Clooney Foundation For Justice Inaugural Albie Awards – Arrivals

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34 Fashion Trust US Awards – Arrivals

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35 75th Primetime Emmy Awards – Arrivals

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36 Celebrity Sightings In New York City – September 06, 2024

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37 UTA Emmy Party 2024

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38 Fashion Scholarship Fund Gala Honoring Tracee Ellis Ross, Michael Burke and Pete Nordstrom, Hosted by Paloma Elsesser – Arrivals

By Cierra Black · Updated September 4, 2024

Calling all Virgos, it’s our time to shine. Virgo season is well underway and one of our favorite Virgo beauties, Beyoncé, celebrates her birthday today. As the poster child for the always-evolving, creative, detail-oriented earth signs, Beyoncé is taking another lap around the sun and doing so in style.

What better way to celebrate the greatest performer of her generation, and the ones since (not up for debate), than to take a moment to highlight some of her most inspiring beauty looks to date.

Debuting 27 years ago, Beyoncé has been on mood boards since for her hair, makeup, nails, and sartorial styles. From The Writing’s On The Wall to Self-Titled and Cowboy Carter, the trailblazer has perfected her beauty routine while at the same time shifting in style through the years and her creative eras. 

In the late ‘90s and early 2000s we saw her rocking the popular thin eyebrows, frosty eyelids, and microlink-like braid styles that flowed into loose extensions — arguably the precursor to the goddess, mermaid braids we see today. 

Into Bey’s solo career we saw glamorous looks like the often-imitated B-Day era updo and the larger than life curls which stole the show during her 2006 BET Awards performance. Self-Titled brought us an edgy-leaning tousled bob with highlights and sultry, smokey eyes. Lemonade ushered in the eponymous cornrow extensions now referred to as Lemonade braids. 

OG Beyhive remembers her peak blogger-esque Instagram era with the collages that always featured her intricate nail designs— because, in true Virgo fashion, everything’s in the details. She carried this knack into the beauty looks throughout the musical film Black Is King, which featured countless hair and makeup looks that highlighted and embraced African diasporic beauty.

The 2023 Renaissance World Tour provided a wealth of style inspo as well, with Beyoncé gracing the stage each night in soft glam, shimmery eye looks and elongated tresses of various styles. She concluded this era with platinum blonde hair that carried us into the Americana goldilocks looks of Cowboy Carter today. 

In honor of the Queen Bey’s birthday, revisit some of her most inspiring, trendsetting beauty moments—from the bugaboo braids to Cecred-certified natural curls— below. 

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01 Destiny’s Child Era Beauty

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02 2006 BET Awards

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03 Telephone Music Video’s Americana Glam

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04 B’Day Era Updo

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05 Drunk In Love Grammy’s Performance

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06 Lemonade Braids

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07 Black Is King Bantu Knot Braided Style

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08 Southern Belle Glam

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09 Natural Honey-Dipped Curls

By Cierra Black · Updated May 16, 2024

After a four year hiatus, Beautycon is back and as beautiful as ever. The glam-centered conference kicked off Saturday morning in Los Angeles with Beautycon’s Brand Programming Strategist, Sophia Dennis, and Essence Ventures’ President & CEO, Caroline Wanga. The two hosts warmly greeted the attendees, affectionately referred to as “the beauty rebels, and set the tone for a weekend full of inspiring discussions, immersive experiences, and exposure to rising beauty brands.

Thought-provoking panels on the main stage revealed that today’s beauty innovators are ushering in conversations surrounding realistic acceptance, holistic health, and sustainable practices. The discussions focused on anything from disrupting the beauty space to advice and techniques from industry professionals. Many of the chats—which included icons such as Tia Mowry, Kelly Rowland, Marsai Martin, and more—also honed in on the idea that beauty isn’t only skin deep. 

Meanwhile, creators and business owners Arnell Armon and Lora Arellano bonded over balancing motherhood and creative passions. Additionally, beauty activists such as Tess Holiday challenged the audience to redefine what they understood beauty to be. 

Across the venue, Beauty Brand Haven provided a chance to connect brands and consumers, bridging the gap between them. There, beauty rebels stocked up on samples from brands such as Camille Rose, Good Weird, Beauty Beez and made gentle. Many brand representatives there shared the same sentiments as Rebundle’s Ciara May. “Our product is all about touching, feeling, and experiencing,” she told ESSENCE. “So it’s important to be able to see it in action. We’re very intentional about that.” 

An extravagant fashion show and performances by BIA, Rhea Raj and the House of Balenciaga brought the evenings to a close and left participants feeling empowered. The return of Beautycon proves that beauty inclusivity is more than just a buzzword, and begins with everyone. If you missed out on the talent-studded affair, don’t be too disheartened. You can find a glimpse into the fun-filled weekend below.

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