It’s Women’s History Month! And while we celebrate Black women every day here at ESSENCE, our amazing staff wanted to set aside some time this month to personally support and highlight the accomplishments of the six phenomenal young women who participated in Season 2 of Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities, in a major way!
For the second year, ESSENCE joined forces with Ulta Beauty to provide six young women with an opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to work together to create their very own cosmetics and bath kit. Well, these young ladies did just that, along with the help of mentors, the Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities Cosmetics Kit and Self Caramel Bath Kit is now available at your local Ulta Beauty stores and online at ulta.com!
To support the work of these amazing young women and to let you know it is the real deal, six staff members here at Black Girl Magic Headquarters, tried out the cosmetics and bath kits for themselves. Check out their experiences and a few looks they were able to create below!
01
Calune Eustache: Experiential & Live Events Senior Manager
I love whenever I get a reason to apply makeup these days. My girlfriends and I scheduled a virtual happy hour to catch up and the kit was the perfect touch to make my night even more special. The collection features a slew of beautiful eyeshadow shades and two lip glosses. I wanted to create a fun glam look, so I used the Fresh-Faced Eyeshadow Palette to achieve it.
I applied Fire in the crease, Vavoom directly on my eyelid and a touch of Goodt in the tear duct area of my eyes. I finished the look with Unfiltered Lip Gloss. The gloss is a true gloss in that it shines beautifully, but it also manages to feel creamy on the lips which I loved. I had a fun night with my girls and felt pretty while doing so!
02
Tamish Bates: Marketing Manager
I am #TeamSelfCare and love a good Self-Care Sunday, so I was SUPER excited to try out the Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities 2.0 Self Caramel bath kit. This kit includes a tie dye plush spa headband, caramel body scrub and body sorbet, and let me tell you, it was everything.
As someone who loves scents, from my body wash to candles, I was pleasantly surprised and delighted by the smell of the scrub and the lotion.
This past #SelfCareSunday, I tried the scrub, and absolutely loved the consistency. It was a great exfoliator, while not being too harsh. After rinsing and drying off, I completed my routine by using the body sorbet. This lotion is lightweight yet moisturizing, and I must say it left my skin feeling amazing. This combo is a keeper.
Last, but not least, the spa headband came in handy! Not only is it super soft, comfortable, and cute, it was functional. This headband helped to keep my hair out of the way and is ‘shower safe’ (due to the material). I will absolutely be bringing this to my next facial or spa appointment.
03
Stephanie “NöNe” Dunivan: VP-Experiential, Branded Content & Video
Usually when I try a new look, I let the palette talk to me and build around whatever color inspires me. I was totally smitten by the colors in the Fresh-Faced palette. The earth tones are super rich, and I knew that even with an amateur hand like mine, I’d be able to mix and match the colors well. And I did! For a little punch I added the color “Boujee” below my bottom lashes.
I love how compact this kit is. It’s a great size to keep in my purse in case I need to go from day to night while out and about. I got to work with the young Ladies on Season 2 of Beautiful Possibilities, directing them from behind the scenes and I’m incredibly proud of what the ladies put together!
04
Bianca Garwood: Social Lead
Unfortunately, unlike many of my peers, I have not been blessed with the MUA Midas touch, lol! (Even when I do the most, it looks like I did the bare minimum.) So, I’ve accepted my fate and rely on the following trifecta for my daily look: lip gloss, liner and lashes.
I needed a nude, so I was super excited to try out the GU X Ulta Beauty lip gloss…and we’ve definitely got a winner. It’s hydrating, glossy and thick, which allows for a long-lasting stay. I don’t dabble too much in eyeshadow, but I like to add a little to the corners of my eyes and as a highlighter for a little razzle dazzle, and I loved it!
Great job, ladies!!
05
Anna Janowsky: Marketing Video Lead
I absolutely love this collection and I am so proud of all the girls who worked on it, for making their dreams a reality!
When I first opened the collection, I was so inspired by the packaging and its representation of all shapes, sizes, colors, and backgrounds. It made me feel beautiful before even opening any products! The next thing that caught my eye was the super creative names of the palettes and eyeshadows. For my look I blended “Empire”, “Goodt”, and “Fire”. The color payoff is amazing, and they have the perfect amount of shimmer to them. I can’t wait to try some of the fun pops of color like “Flossy” and “Boujee” next.
Amazing job ladies! Keep shining!
06
Nadege Philogene: Marketing Coordinator
There’s nothing I love more than some self-care after a day of baking or schoolwork. My favorite thing to do is take a calming bubble bath with the GU Self-Caramel kit.
The Girls United caramel scrub has easily become one of my favorite bath time essentials. It leaves my skin feeling super soft and smells amazing. The caramel body scrub and body sorbet is the perfect addition to everyone’s self-care routine!
