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What the Aaliyah Barbie Doll Means to Black Girls
Growing up, I, like many girls, had a Barbie doll. From her spunky outfits and fun hairstyles to her various professions, the iconic toy was as much of a source of empowerment as it was enjoyment. The doll’s manufacturer, Mattel, has created many different versions of Barbie over the years, but the latest is one I wish I could’ve personally experienced growing up. On Jan. 16, Mattel released a new Barbie honoring the late R&B princess, Aaliyah. Seeing this creation immediately filled me with a sense of happiness — but I also felt a great longing for a doll like this during my formative years. The now-sold-out Aaliyah Barbie —…
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What “Ethically Sourced Ingredients” Means in Beauty
Being a thoughtful beauty consumer is harder than it should be. Even if you’re committed to buying products that brag about being “clean,” “sustainable,” and “cruelty-free,” there’s no oversight around any of these terms. In fact, oftentimes when you see them on labels, they don’t mean anything at all. This lack of regulation places the responsibility on you, the shopper, to ensure that what you’re buying aligns with your values — making it critically important to educate yourself about beauty marketing and turn your bullshit radar way up in the process. All of this leads us to “ethical sourcing,” another one of those buzzy beauty terms that should clue us…
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Sustainable Beauty: What Each Buzzword Means
“Carbon-Neutral” and “Carbon-Negative” Beauty Supporting a carbon-neutral beauty brand means purchasing products from a brand that actively works to reduce its carbon footprint, or the total amount of greenhouse gases produced by a person or entity. To be carbon neutral means to offset your release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by contributing to causes around the world that help tackle climate change. Carbon-negative brands are similar, except they offset the carbon they produce, in addition to removing extra carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in an effort to help reverse climate change. “B Corp Certification” A company that’s B Corp certified is one that finds a balance between purpose and…
