Covergirl Alexis Skyy: Journey to Transformation, Healing, and Success

Pivoting from a cast member of Love and Hip-Hop to the emerging multifaceted businesswoman gracing our timelines today, Alexis Skyy literally started her spiritual transformation right before our eyes. Accrediting her daughter with being a major influence for her holistic transformation, she has intuitively created the haircare line, The Hair Pot as an initial generational wealth builder for her firstborn Alaiya Grace.

Not only is Alexis curating ventures in hair care, real estate investment, and fashion, but the highlight of her journey is she is bringing other women along for the ride to spiritual healing. Creating safe, digital, and in-person spaces for trauma survivors to speak openly of their past experiences, Alexis is utilizing her platform of over 5 million followers to be an inspiration to women young and old.

Three Top Tips For Building A Sustainable Wardrobe 

Over the past few years, fast fashion has taken over the clothing industry. Instead of concentrating on well-made, long-lasting investment pieces, many popular retailers instead sell poorly constructed garments made from inferior synthetic materials for an extremely low cost. The design of these clothes is often trend-led, meaning that they quickly become dated after only a few seasons and are subsequently discarded. However, the toll that fast fashion is taking on the environment is quickly becoming evident, as well as the poor working conditions and wages of the people employed in making fast fashion clothing. If you would like to help in the fight against fast fashion, read on for three top tips for building a sustainable wardrobe.

Photo Credit:  @brandy Instagram 

  1. Buy second hand

Instead of buying into fast fashion, you could instead buy your clothing second hand. Do not let the fact that these clothes are pre-owned put you off – you don’t necessarily have to spend hours going through a smelly $1 sales rack at Goodwill (although you can find some gems here if you are willing to put in the work). If you know exactly what it is you are after, try searching for it on an online sales platform such as eBay. You can find some real bargains here, with a lot of clothes being either brand new or only worn a handful of times. Alternatively, you could look at specialist vintage clothing dealers, who will be able to provide you with a unique and sustainable piece of fashion history.

  1. Shop from ethical retailers

If you do decide to buy an item of clothing brand new, make sure you buy from an ethical retailer, such as yuniont.com. An ethical retailer will use fabric obtained through sustainable sources, such as recycled fabric, and have the items sewn in an ethical environment that pays workers fairly for their labor. They may also seek to reduce the air miles involved in producing the garment and avoid using materials that could potentially involve putting an animal through pain, such as angora. This information is often readily available on a sustainable retailer’s website so that customers have complete transparency about business practices and manufacturing methods.

 

  1. Create a classic capsule wardrobe

As much as fast fashion is trend-led, you could avoid this pitfall by creating a wardrobe based on classic pieces that will always look chic, rather than constantly chasing after the lastest trends. Garments such as a white t shirt, well-cut pair of jeans, and little black dress can be used to create many different looks suitable for any occasion; however, what garments you choose to include in your capsule wardrobe will depend on your own personal style – you might consider a leather jacket indispensable, whereas someone else might prefer a beige mac, for instance. Buy items that are well made and the best that you can afford on your budget. This way, you are unlikely to need to replace them after only a few wears.

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GET THE LOOK: Vanessa Hudgens Black Flats for Under $100

Get the celebrity favorite look this summer – flats! These chic simple styles offer the perfect edge to any outfit and you can even match your mask to your shoes.

These fabulous flats are not only super comfortable with LifeStride’s comfort technology, but also so versatile – you can dress them up or down! Make sure you check out LifeStride’s Amelia Flat, Madison Loafer, or Zendaya Loafer to get the look of some of your favorite celebs such as Vanessa Hudgens and more! The best part is you can get these beauties for under $100!!

Kelly Rowland Street Style: Photo of The Day

Kelly Rowland shared a noteworthy Instagramable photo on social media.  She’s seen wearing a red leather jacket, crop top, and frayed, ankle jeans.

This entire look was hot and don’t forget about the eye-catching gold accessories to compliment the outfit.

Grab a similar Red Leather Jacket on Amazon.

Black Girls Rock 2017 and Yara Shahidi Red Carpet Style

Yara Shahidi has become a red carpet siren with a unique style.  She was seen wearing a gorgeous purple bell-sleeved dress for The Black Girls Rock! 2017 event. This Elie Saab dress had a ruffle neckline and pleated skirt for the bottom.

Photo Credit: People Style

The use of coordinating accessories made her look very distinctive.  Yara cinched the waist with a plum-colored belt and metallic pointed-toe heels.

Fashionistas can appear taller (with natural curves) by wearing a belt in the same tone as your outfit.

Find a few style options from Forever 21 below:

White Laces coordinate with Shirt Dress
Wrap Belt can be worn with Black Dress

 

 

 

TIME INC.¹S 2017 ESSENCE FESTIVAL® PRESENTED BY COCA-COLA® ATTRACTS MORE THAN 470,000 ATTENDEES

Time Inc.’s (NYSE:TIME) 2017 ESSENCE Festival® presented by Coca-Cola® attracted more than 470,000 attendees to New Orleans this Fourth of July weekend for its annual cultural celebration featuring more than 200 performing artists and speakers—which included first-time appearances by Halle Berry, Diana Ross, Chance The Rapper and many more.  Recognized as one of the country’s largest live events, the 2017 ESSENCE Festival extended its reach worldwide by generating a record-breaking 4 billion social media impressions.

The annual 4-day Festival, which took place June 29-July 2, features entertainment, empowerment, and cultural experiences during the day and a state-of-the-art concert series with the world’s best performers each night.

Highlights of the 2017 ESSENCE Festival include:

  • Over 100 performing artists across the Superdome and the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Many of the biggest names in the entertainment industry such as Diana Ross, John Legend, Mary J. Blige, Chaka Khan, Chance The Rapper, Master P. and Solange performed at the event’s nighttime concerts and dozens of others across ESSENCE’s Center Stage and All-Star Gospel Tribute honoring Cissy Houston.
  • More than 100 speakers, authors, leaders and celebrities participated in the Festival’s free daytime experience –including a first-ever appearance by Halle Berry.  Other powerhouse speakers included Ava DuVernay, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and the return of favorites Rev. Al Sharpton, Congresswoman Maxine Waters and Iyanla Vanzant, among others, drew packed crowds.
  • #EssenceFest social media posts driving more than 4 billion impressions with daily trending status on Twitter.
  • The launch of ESSENCE’s newly expanded ‘Path to Power’ business and entrepreneurship conference, as well as the return of consumer Expos focused on ‘Beauty & Style’ and ‘Entertainment All Access’ which drew crowds of thousands each day to the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
  • Artist collaborations resulted in new Festival initiatives, including a first-time ‘Ladies Night’ featuring all female performers across five stages on Saturday night, and a first-ever celebrity basketball game to raise money for local youth scholarships in partnership with Master P. and his foundation, Team Hope NOLA.

For a full recap of all the exciting moments from the 2017 ESSENCE Festival, visit ESSENCE.com and log in to the ESSENCE Festival News Center for photo and footage highlights.

The 2017 ESSENCE Festival is executive produced by ESSENCE Festivals LLC, a division of ESSENCE Communications Inc. (ECI), and produced by Solomon Group. GeChar is the executive producer of the 2017 ESSENCE Empowerment Experience

Sponsors of the 2017 ESSENCE Festival include presenting sponsor Coca-Cola and major sponsors AT&TFord, McDonald’s, State Farm and Walmart.  Superlounge sponsors include Coca-Cola, Ford and Walmart. The All Star Gospel Tribute is sponsored by Walmart.

 

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media company dedicated to African-American women, with a brand reach of 21.2 million. With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events and online, ECI is comprised of Essence magazine, the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; the ESSENCE Festival®; Black Women in Hollywood and Black Women in Music events; Window on Our Women and Smart Beauty consumer insights series; Essence.com; and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD).

ABOUT TIME INC.

Time Inc. (NYSE:TIME) is a leading multi-platform consumer media company that engages over 170 million consumers globally every month. The company’s influential brands include PEOPLE, TIME, FORTUNE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, INSTYLE, REAL SIMPLE, SOUTHERN LIVING and TRAVEL + LEISURE, as well as more than 60 diverse international brands. Time Inc. offers marketers a differentiated proposition in the marketplace by combining its powerful brands, trusted content, audience scale, direct relationships with consumers and unique first-party data. The company is home to growing media and platforms, including digital video, OTT, television, licensing, paid products and services and celebrated live events, such as the TIME 100, FORTUNE Most Powerful Women, PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’s Sportsperson of the Year, the ESSENCE Festival and the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen.