Noir Beauty & Natural Hair Affair

Black is Beautiful

A few weeks ago, I attended the first annual Noir Beauty & Natural Hair Affair.  The event was held as a celebration and an appreciation of black beauty and natural hair.  The founders of this event, Coco Bates (founder of the editorial online site The Co. Report) and Jessica Harmon (a local known Makeup Artist), collaborated together to create an event to connect their followers to local black owned brands in the fashion and beauty world.  It’s been no secret that the African-American beauty community has been under-served in the main stream marketplace.  Exhibit A:  Fenty Beauty.  Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you all know that Rihanna’s brand Fenty launched a full line of cosmetics that were very inclusive of darker skin tones.  The line launched at the beginning of September and the darker shade foundation products have been consistently sold out.  I've been on the hunt for my foundation shade (430) for over a month. Stores have been getting regular shipments, but it evaporates as soon as it hits the shelves. Keep in mind that the collection was launched in every Sephora store, including the smaller JC Penney store locations.  The Fenty experiment, what I like to call it, proves what black women have been saying for decades.......if you make it for us, we will buy it. Historically, there has been a lack of focus on African-American beauty consumers, as well as a lack of respect for our dollar. This makes the timing of the Noir Beauty event quite perfect.

The event very fittingly, was held at the Buffalo Soldiers Museum, a museum dedicated to honoring the first African-American soldiers to serve after the Civil War.  It was set up on the top floor event space that looks quite quaint when you first walk in, but gives attendees a little surprise when they realize the space is quite long and filled with intriguing vendor tables from black women owned businesses.   You almost don’t know where to start.  I immediately noticed a refreshment table to the right, but opted to dig right into perusing the tables for fashion and beauty goodies. 

First, I stopped by a table featuring a clothing brand called Primitive Public, focusing on apparel and accessories for women.  They sell an array of tees, denim jackets and even coffee mugs.  I picked up a mug for myself.  I have over a dozen coffee mugs in my work office, so I am a tad bit obsessed with them. For more products from this brand, you can follow them on IG @primitivepublic and visit their online website at www.primitivepublic.com or click here.

Next, we stopped by the Soultri Scents booth, a bath and body works company owned by Erial Green. I have super dry skin, so naturally I was drawn to this particular booth.  I picked up a body butter in the scent "Sunshine", a mixture of mango, apricot and coconut.  It smells spectacular and the $12 price point made the decision an easy one. These would make great gifts for loved ones for the holiday season.  You can follow her on IG @soultriscents and shop the website at www.soultriscents.com or click here.

As obsessed as I am about bath and body products, I am more obsessed with fashion!  So I was extremely excited to meet this young designer named Veronica Cheri of V Cheri designs.  She had some really great pieces that were giving me Self-Portrait vibes, which I loved. Veronica will be showing at a benefit Runway Show at the Norris Convention center in CityCentre on Sunday, Nov 5th.  All proceeds will go to Hurricane Harvey Relief.  Tickets are currently on Eventbrite, or click here to purchase tickets. Also, don't forget to check out her IG @vcheridesigns and her website at www.vcheri.com or click here. 

The other highlight of my experience was from the other fashion brand in attendance, House of Takura.  What would a Noir Beauty event be without an African print inspired clothing brand?  I fell in love with the jumpsuit that the designer Annette, was rocking.  I loved it and you'll see why below. The website is full of must have pieces that have approached a fresh take on fashion with African textiles. You can follow her on IG @houseoftakura and visit her website at www.houseoftakura.com or simply click here. 

There were so many booths to visit, it was hard to cover them all.  However, I do want to give you a glance at some other highlights from this event. Overall, it was truly a wonderful experience. I had the opportunity to network with a ton of positive women and shop for great products at the same time.  All attendees also walked away with a goodie bag filled with generous sized samples of natural hair and skincare products.  Overall, the experience was a win.

Also be sure to check out my interview with Coco Bates, the co-founder of this event, for a deeper dive into the inspiration behind the Noir event as well as her editorial website The Co Report.  It's a great read! 

Click here to read the interview.

ChiChi L'amour head wraps

IG: @chichilamour

website: www.chichilamour.com

Teshia Noel, ChiChi L'amour founder and head designer

Jessica Harmon, MUA, in action giving a lovely lady a makeover.

Noir Event founders Jessica Harmon and Coco Bates

Coco Bates, The Co Report's founder and co-founder of the Noir Event.

Click here to check out my interview with her.

Nail Technician Ashley Masarati giving a manicure.  And she's mobile too!

IG: @ashleymasarati

Parker J's Hair Care

IG: @parkerjs_

website: www.parkerjshaircare.com

Bee Renee Beaute', a brow and skin beauty bar

IG: @beereneebeaute

website: www.beereneebeaute.com