Beauty in Hard Times: Africa’s Lipstick Effect
What do women hold onto when everything else feels uncertain? Across Africa, one answer rises again and again: beauty rituals. In times of economic pressure, when inflation climbs and currencies wobble, many women continue to invest in small but powerful acts of adornment—braids, gele, fragrance oils, or a few yards of fabric. Economists call it […]
Amazon Prime Day 2025: Best Deals from African-Owned Beauty Brands
As Amazon’s Prime Day heats up this July, it’s not just big-box brands drawing attention. A new wave of African-owned beauty brands is tapping into the global shopping frenzy, offering high-performance skincare and makeup rooted in culture, innovation, and intentionality. From Lagos to London, these brands are using Amazon’s vast reach to scale their businesses, […]
Of Skin and Summer: A Ritual for Black Men Who Choose Themselves
He did not grow up with skincare. What he knew of skin was shaped by routine—dust washed off with water, dryness soothed with whatever lotion was available, often borrowed from his sister or left behind by an aunt. Skincare, in the way it is spoken of now, was a language he was never taught. […]
Memories Sculpted in Bronze: A Mother’s Legacy, A Daughter’s Light — The Story of IFTIIN
Mariam Racine didn’t plan to become a jewelry designer. Her path to founding IFTIIN—a studio crafting bold, artisan-made bronze jewelry rooted in African heritage—wasn’t a straight line, but a series of reflections, reckonings, and rediscoveries. “It really started with an unexpected job loss,” she says. “That economic dismissal turned out to be a blessing in […]
Kilubukila: Crafting a New Congolese Narrative Through Heritage, Design, and Women’s Empowerment
In the heart of Kinshasa, where the pulse of the city meets the echo of ancestral memory, a quiet revolution is unfolding — not with fanfare, but with fiber. In a modest workshop humming with laughter, looms, and purpose, Congolese women are weaving more than raffia. They are weaving futures. Identity. Power. And pride. This […]
From Artifact to Agency: Inside The Met’s New Chapter for African Art
On May 31, 2025, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) reopened its Arts of Africa galleries with a celebration that felt less like a formal unveiling and more like a long-awaited homecoming. The newly redesigned space, part of the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, brought together artists, curators, collectors, and cultural leaders from across […]
Amber Is the New Bold: When the Glow Is Ours to Command
The body has always been a canvas—and melanin, a masterpiece. Not in the way galleries hold paintings behind velvet ropes, but in the way a woman, bare-shouldered and sun-kissed, walks into a room and does not apologize for taking up space. Melanin is not just pigment. It is memory, it is resistance, it is grace […]
Summer Skincare Spotlight: Yes, Melanin Needs Protection Too
As the sun lingers longer and the days heat up, we shift into the season of glow —skin out, shoulders kissed by sunlight, and natural radiance at full power. But while summer is a time for movement, joy, and celebration, it’s also a time to take our skincare more seriously. For Black and brown communities, […]
Thuku-Benzinge’s Umutoni: The Jewelry Brand Crafting Its Own Luxury
Umutoni Thuku-Benzinge is curating her own definition of luxury. One deeply rooted in her Kenyan and Rwandan heritage, and grounded in her passion for jewelry, social impact, and craftsmanship. As a fashion entrepreneur, she is the founder of the eponymous jewelry brand Umutoni, known for its East African storytelling and minimalist design language. Born and […]
Vibrate Film Lab: Ghana’s New Haven for Analog Photography Unveiled by Surf Ghana Collective
In the 1950s, Ghana’s film photography scene burst to life, driven by pioneers like James Barnor and Felicia Abban. From Barnor’s Ever Young Studio to Abban’s trailblazing work as Ghana’s first professional female photographer, they captured a nation stepping into independence with analog cameras and darkroom magic. But as decades passed, digital technology, economic shifts, […]