By Sarah Bartos     3/30/22 12:06am

The beauty and wellness industries are worth billions of dollars, but despite their massive consumer base, there has been a lack of dialogue surrounding inclusivity in product design and marketing up until very recently. Many Black women-owned beauty businesses are working to make the beauty industry more inclusive. Here are just a few beauty and skincare brands owned by Black women to invest in after Women’s History Month is over, including those that call Houston home. 

LAMIK (Love and Makeup in Kindness) is a Houston-based beauty and skincare company that focuses on providing products to women of all complexions. Founder Kim Roxie emphasizes the importance of beauty being “revealed not applied” through the company’s various products. You can purchase LAMIK products ranging from skincare, eyes, brows, lips and more via the LAMIK website or cosmetic stores including Ulta. 

In 2021, “The Chicago Tribune” wrote an article detailing the history behind Eunice Johnson‘s company Fashion Fair. Founded in 1973, this was one of the first companies that addressed the skincare and beauty needs of women of color. Johnson noticed this gap in the industry when she witnessed Black models mixing different foundation shades, as there was a lack of shades sold on the market. While Johnson died in 2010, the company's new owners are trying to carry on Johnson's legacy. Cheryl Mayberry McKissack stated to the Chicago Tribune that the company was "at the forefront of making sure that beauty really was something that every woman had the opportunity to experience, especially Black women and women of color.” These products can be found on the Sephora and Fashion Fair websites. 

Topicals is a skincare company that addresses chronic skin conditions through their product line. Their tagline is "funner flare-ups," as the company attempts to destigmatize and normalize certain conditions while educating consumers on using the proper products to manage them. Products can be purchased via their website or Sephora online. 

Earth’s Nectar is a Houston-based, eco-friendly hair brand that offers a variety of hair care products to address common scalp and hair problems among clients with textured hair. The company is co-owned by Tamika Fletcher, a Black woman from Houston who also operates Natural Resources Salon, a natural hair salon and boutique in the Museum District. You can purchase Earth’s Nectar hair care products online or at department stores like Macy’s. 

The festivities of Beer Bike pick up and will continue throughout the week, and Beer Bike itself quickly approaches this Saturday, April 2. Students will don their college Beer Bike as their college teams race around the track and vie for one of the most hotly contested titles at Rice — champions of Beer Bike 2022. For the first time since Beer Bike 2019, eager students will be able to not only wear their college’s shirt but will be able to display the designs with pride while they cheer on their college biking and chug teams. The artists and designers behind the Beer Bike shirts emailed the Thresher about their inspiration for the shirt as well as the thought that went into the design process.

Last Saturday, March 26, Rice’s five a cappella groups combined forces for an evening of performances that couldn’t have been more pitch perfect. The Philharmonics, Basmati Beats, Nocturnal, the Apollos and Low Keys each took the Grand Hall stage to perform their sets featuring creative arrangements and mashups of popular hits. The groups came together at the end of the evening for a joint performance of Silk Sonic’s “Leave the Door Open,” with singers from the featured groups alternating solos.

“The Lost City” is a well-crafted adventure-comedy perfect for casual viewing. Though by no means transcendent, “The Lost City” lives on the excellent timing of its jokes while giving surprisingly insightful commentary on the adventure genre. Though not a full parody, the film’s self-awareness allows for moments of true hilarity while leaving room for heartfelt scenes. Throughout the film, there were genuine moments of laughter from the audience in the theater. I believe this movie is one of the best comedies of the year so far and one that I would highly recommend. 

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