Happy Monday loves! It's a fresh week with a fresh set of goals to crush. I hope you all had an amazing weekend because I most certainly did. I had a party!! *throws confetti* Saturday, I hosted my very first Creative Girl Hangout and it was absolutely fantastic. Last month, I announced to you guys that I landed a spot on Creme Of Nature's Styling Squad to promote their brand new line of Coconut Milk styling products. Saturday's event was to celebrate the launch of the goodies and me, of course. I held it exclusively, invite-only, and turned my job into a tropical hangout filled with coconuts, creative girls, curls, and good vibes! If you follow me on Instagram, I'm sure you saw a little glimpse of it, but I will have official pictures and stuff up very soon! In fact, an entire recap video is going to be on my channel. A few people inquired about my party look, and you know I love to share so here's a post all about it. I'm also going to talk a little bit about my partnership with Creme Of Nature and what it's been like working with one of my favorite brands.
The Party
To match the products, I wanted my theme to include coconuts and a tropical vibe. Thank God for my good friend and fellow creative Tallia Lee for helping me bring my vision to life. In addition to her immaculate beauty brand MUSE Beauty Agency, Tallia offers event planning services that are modern and chic: The Eventscape! She set up my Creative Girl Hangout and made a Tropical Sangria that was to die for!
Hair + Makeup
These days, I've been really into super sleek looks that show off my face and I adore center parts. Creme Of Nature's new Shine & Hold Glue and Edge Tamer have been my very best friends lately. I saw this hairstyle on Instagram and immediately sent it to my hairstylist, like "I need this!" One pack of Xpressions braid hair, a little bit of Shine & Hold Glue, and voila. MAGIC! *Future voice*
My beat and glow is courtesy of Bri Hill, of B Nicole Artistry. We filmed the process to put together a little tutorial, but we laughed and talked the entire time, so I don't even know what kind of footage we captured. I'm gonna edit it later this week, so let's pray for bomb results, lol. I am wearing Fenty Beauty on my lips, though. One of the Mattemoiselle lippies in the shade "Spanked."
Outfit
When I posted these pics on my InstaStory, everyone was like, "OMG I love your jumpsuit!" This is not a jumpsuit, lol, it's two separate pieces: pants and a top. I bought this outfit back in August for my trip to New York Fashion Week but didn't wear it, because I couldn't find the perfect pair of shoes. I thought about throwing on a pair of nude two-strap heels, but that just didn't speak my soul. My sister Kyiah and I agreed that I needed something EXTRA! So I decided to save it. I'm so happy I did because it totally matched the theme and vibe of my party. Both pieces are from Zara.
I was shopping for birthday shoes back in October when I discovered these babies on Nordstrom's website. It was love at first sight, and I knew exactly what I wanted to wear them with. This outfit! I took a screenshot and sent it to Kyiah to make sure they were EXTRA enough. She approved, and it became an add to cart kind of day. They're by TopShop.
So instead of wearing it the typical way, I pulled the top off my shoulders, tucked the front into my pants, and draped the back around my waist. My earrings are from my job, Meow and Barks Boutique, and added the perfect touch of glam to my look. The coconut is just a prop. Cute, right?
Working With Creme Of Nature
It's literally a goal accomplished and a dream come true. In 2017, I wrote down my goals ending the list with working with Creme Of Nature as the ultimate one. I was getting all sorts of bomb opportunities, but my dream brand hadn't reached out to me yet. As the year was coming to an end, I had to say, "Okay Janée. You haven't worked hard enough to secure it yet. Just keep going. 2018 will be the year." I soon found out that I had the potential to work for the brand, but my Instagram following hadn't quite met the requirements yet. I needed 5k followers and at the time I only had about 3700 of you beauties following me. I'll admit I was a little discouraged, but giving up was NEVER an option. I just put in the work and committed to growing my Instagram and being consistent.
In November/December, I received the best email ever. Creme Of Nature wanted me to be on their CNI Styling Squad. I was soooo thrilled! I'm pretty sure I cried and called my mama, but not before thanking God first! I started my contract with them on January 1, 2018, and it's been so much fun ever since. I've gained new connections, a lot of experience, amazing products, and I feel super blessed! The gag is, I still don't have 5k followers on IG! Creme Of Nature genuinely believes in my vision and creativity.
I want to let all of you know that following your dreams and sticking to Plan A is always worth it. Many of you know that I've been blogging for years now. I was always too afraid to be consistent and had so many doubts about my content. I even took a year and a half off at one point. I made every excuse in the world for why I wasn't being productive. But in that, I was watching my peers excel, and I'll be totally honest and say that I was developing jealousy issues. It's not pretty to envy others, so I prayed against it and got back to work. I just wanted to do well with them, ya know?
Watching others live their dreams can really inspire you, but if you just sit back and watch without action, you end up hating on them instead of being motivated by their hard work. You've got to do what your heart desires in order to truly be happy. It's so much easier to collaborate and support others when you are also operating in your purpose. I believe that's the key to entering your bloom season and flourishing. God wants us all to do well and grow together!
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The pics above are shots from my iPhone, but the profesh pics will be up soon! I know this was lengthy, but I hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for your encouragement, congratulations, and continued support. I love you all so much!
xo,
Janée
Outfit, Hair, & Makeup Deets
Hair: Erica White
Makeup: Bri Hill
Top & Pants: Zara
Shoes: Nordstrom x TopShop (SOLD OUT)
Earrings: Meow and Barks Boutique
Congrats beautiful! You deserve it! I still remember attending one of your events in Jacksonville. This post was the inspiration I needed this morning. Being a new mom, just buying my first home and working full time as teacher I have so much I want to blog about it. I’ve been making excuses but you’re right consistency and hard work will pay off. I have to just make goals and work at them each day. Praying for your continued success.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I remember you being there. You're always supporting me, and I greatly appreciate it. No more excuses!! Those three things alone are enough to talk about. It will definitely pay off.
DeleteFirst and foremost, congrats on working with Creme of Nature! This was such an inspirational post! For this year, I am confronting my fear and doubts of creating content and sharing it with the world so these words were so needed! Thank you for that!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! You should definitely put that fear and doubt behind you and release your content! You never know what's in store or where it'll take you if you don't try. :)
DeleteSo happy for you! I'm sure we have all fell victim to the numbers game. The great thing is so many brands are realizing it's just not about the followers, it's about the engagement! Shoutout to Creme of Nature for believing in your vision! Congrats love!
ReplyDeleteYes, I’m so glad that opportunities of all kind are opening up to bloggers and influencers with smaller platforms, in terms of following. Thank you so much! ❤️
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