Black Woman in Beauty Series: Whitney Houston

Last Wednesday I was scheduled to publish this post, but I allowed some other life challenges prevent me from writing that day. Now I've heard the news that a great voice has been silenced.  Whitney Houston meant so much to so many people. I don't think I have to give many reasons as to why she fits into this series. Having been the first African American female to grace the cover of Seventeen Magazine, she paved the way for many others by breaking down barriers.  Here are some of my favorite photos of Whitney.

Photo Credit: http://generationbass.com

Photo Credit: http://i.usatoday.net

Photo Credit: http://cdn.fashionista.com

Photo Credit: http://assets.nydailynews.com

Black Woman in Beauty Series: Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama Made Vogue's Best Dressed List
Photo Credit: http://clutchmagonline.com

One woman who is undeniable, America's beauty icon is Michelle Obama. She is such a positive role model for the youth of today with her consistent efforts to address image issues in the country, especially for children are severely over weight with her "Let's Move" initiative. She has recently been mentioned in the news for wearing an outfit twice (isn't that normal???) and challenging Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Fallon to a fitness matches.

Michelle Obama on Ellen Degeneres

Photo Credit: http://www.thegrio.com

Michelle Obama with Jimmy Fallon

Photo Credit: http://www.indiewire.com

Black Woman in Beauty Series: Patti La Belle

Patti LaBelle was one of the first people that come to my mind when I thought of paying tribute to great African American women who were contributions to the beauty industry.  The reason being, Patti has always exuded confidence shown in the way she performed a song and in the types of acting roles she took on. Patti found ways to help us appreciate all of our senses, the most influential being taste as her cookbooks, "Recipes for the Good Life" and "Recipes to Sing About" and others became a trending topic in American culture. The other senses being smell. Patti developed her own line of fragrances, for both men and women.  Her collection was made available through one-to-one marketing and mall kiosks.

Photo Credit: www.pattilabellefragrances.com

Black Women in Beauty Series: Madame C. J. Walker

With the launch of La La's new cosmetic line Motives for La La on the first day of Black History Month. It got me to thinking about all of the great impact African American woman have made to the beauty industry. So in honor of those great beautiful women, I will be posting the ladies I feel have made huge contributions towards shaping what we've known to be as beauty in America.

Madame C.J. Walker (Sarah Breedlove) 
I'd be remise if I did not mention the Madame C.J. Walker. The beauty industry today has become a billion dollar industry. Madam C.J. Walker was fortunate to see its potential profits on beauty trends for Blacks while working for Annie Malone, a Black hair care product manufacturer. Through science, she used her inventions to become a hair care entrepreneur. She was the first female to become a millionaire by her own achievements, starting with selling and demonstrating her hair treatments with well thought out marketing strategies. She created a college to train her employees, which at one point was as large as 3,000 people. Madame C.J. Walker did more for the Black community than just sell us products for our hair... She created educational opportunities, served as a political advocate for the advancement of Blacks and found honest ways to put the dollars back in their hands.