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Lists and Tips Mariposa Sisters picks women in power

4 Women-Owned Skincare Brands

Graphic by Khala Clarke photo courtesy of Canva.

As a woman, skin care is an essential part of life. Keeping my skin healthy has always been a big priority of mine, so I rounded up a list of a few of my favorite skincare brands that also happen to be created by women.

 

 

1. Summer Fridays

 

This skincare company was started by two women who spent years “searching for something with good-for-you ingredients.” Co-founders Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland were once just two girls who loved blogging about beauty when they decided to team up and create something of their own.  According to their website, their first product was their iconic Jet Lag Mask, which has now become one of their top-sellers. Summer Fridays has built up quite an array of products since the company began. From lip balm to cleansers, there’s something for all of your beauty needs.

 

 

2. Drunk Elephant

 

Drunk Elephant has become widely popular in recent years, and it was started by a woman who just wanted to fix her own skin care issues. Tiffany Masterson searched high and low for the perfect products and began learning about specific ingredients that affected her skin. She labeled these ingredients the “Suspicious 6” and set out to create her own skincare brand that didn’t have any of those six ingredients in them. Drunk Elephant has numerous products for different types of skin care needs. Some of the brand’s most popular items include, the Protini Polypeptide Moisturizer, the C-Firma Vitamin C Day Serum and the T.L.C. Framboos Glycolic Resurfacing Night Serum.

 

 

3. Glossier

 

Though this brand isn’t strictly skincare, Glossier’s story is similar to others on this list. The company was founded in 2014 with a beauty website called Into The Gloss, which became their “source for inspiration and information.” Founder Emily Weiss “wanted to make beauty as much of an element of personal style as fashion” when she set out to start the beauty line. If you’re into following beauty influencers, then you’ve definitely heard about Glossier products. Items, such as their skin salve Balm Dotcom and their brow pomade Boy Brow, have become cult favorites in the beauty guru community. 

 

 

4. Tatcha

 

Victoria Tsai created this luxury skincare company after traveling East and learning about Japanese beauty. According to the brand’s website, the line’s ingredients were literally discovered in an ancient Japanese text. The skincare line’s key ingredient is Hadasei-3, “a trinity of anti-aging superfoods born from the Japanese diet, and the basis for the original geisha beauty rituals: green tea, rice and algae.” Tatcha also partners with Room to Read to fund girls’ education in Asia and Africa. Some of the skincare line’s most popular products include, The Water Cream and the Luminous Dewy Skin Mist.

 

Author: Ashli Ellerman

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Entertainment Lists and Tips Mariposa Sisters picks Women empowering women

4 Spooky shows with powerful women leads you should watch just in time for Halloween!

Graphic by Khala Clarke

1. Lovecraft Country 

This HBO horror drama television series is needless to say, the most horrifying yet interesting show I’ve probably ever watched. Based on the novel Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff, the show is filled with supernatural elements like witchcraft, ghosts, time-travel and more. Each episode takes the audience on an emotional roller coaster keeping each viewer hooked as the plot thickens. You just never know what might happen next in this blockbuster. 

 

Jurnee Smollett stars as Letitia, a young black woman from the south, who joins her longtime friend Atticus (played by Jonathan Majors) and his uncle George (played by Courtney B. Vance) in a quest to find his father set in the Jim Crow and racist era of the 1950’s.

 

In the show Letitia is a photographer who displays a vast aptitude of independence & power while still embodying her feminine nature in the manner she cares for others especially Atticus. Letitia is what I would consider a fierce powerful Black woman!

 

 

2. The Haunting of Hill House

This Netflix supernatural horror drama TV series is an all-time favorite around this time of year. The show follows five siblings as their past haunts them. Bouncing back and forth from the past to the present showing flashbacks of the siblings paranormal experiences. The show is not only terrifying but captivating with its enticing actors and its extraordinary visuals. This show will definitely give you a good scare.

 

The show starring many great actresses such as  Carla Gugino who played Olivia Crain, Elizabeth Reaser and Lulu Wilson as Shirley Crain Harris, Kate Siegel and Mckenna Grace playing Theodora  aka “Theo” Crain and Victoria Pedretti and Violet McGraw as Eleanor “Nell” Crain Vance, who I thought was the most captivating character. 

 

All the women and young girls played powerful roles in this series, truly embodying their  characters, the ladies gave the audience the experience of true terror.

 

 

3. The Haunting of Bly Manor

This new Netflix series is a supernatural horror drama spin-off series of The Haunting of the Hill House. The two series have different storylines as The Haunting of Bly Manor is about a young woman who is hired by a man after a tragic event occurs and he’s left with his niece and nephew. The young woman Danielle aka “Dani” Clayton is played by Victoria Pedretti who also played in The Haunting of the Hill House. She takes care of the children at the family’s country house which is the Bly estate, where she begins to have a chilling experience as she starts to see ghosts. 

 

In fact, many of the characters in this series were characters in The Haunting of the Hill House, Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino, and Catherine Parker all play new characters within this series but they are also many other great actors in this series, a lot of which are great actresses. 

 

Although this show does play as a spin-off of The Haunting on the Hill House, the two shows are very different. Both shows will definitely give you a good scare with a great storyline to follow but The Haunting of Bly Manor is different as it is a chilling story that won’t have you jumping out of your seat but will make you want to sleep with the light on. 

 

 

4. Ratched

This Netflix drama/psychological thriller is by far one of my favorite new series not only because it stars the amazing Sarah Paulson, but because it is truly unconventional. Full of suspense, with the revelations of trilling and shocking truths, Ratched is sure to keep its audience on their toes with every episode.

 

The show follows nurse Mildred Ratched (played by Sarah Paulson), who makes her way to Northern California in the late 1940s to get a job at a recently popular psychiatric hospital. This hospital has begun experimental treatment on its patients and as a nurse, Mildred portrays herself to be the perfect employee, but underneath it all she despises the horrific practices. Mildred is also there to save her foster brother who was sent to the asylum after murdering several priests. 

 

Sara Paulson and other women in the series like Cynthia Nixon, who plays Gwendolyn Briggs the Governor’s press secretary and campaign manager, As well as Judy Davis who plays Nurse Betsy Bucket, the head nurse at Lucia State Hospital and Ratched’s foe turned into a friend.  

 

This gory show will have you squirming in your seat and turning your mind upside down. 

 

Author: Khala Clarke 

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Entertainment Lists and Tips Mariposa Sisters picks

5 Podcasts Created by Women You Need to be Listening to

Graphic by Khala Clarke

1.  My Favorite Murder

 

As a true crime fan, My Favorite Murder is one of, if not my favorite, podcast of all time. The true crime comedy podcast is hosted by the hilarious duo Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. The two women teamed up in 2016 to create a light-hearted, yet captivating show where they tell stories about their favorite murders. They also invite fans to send in stories about their hometown murders, so there is never a shortage of chilling topics. The witty banter mixed with true crime stories makes for a more entertaining podcast. These women never fail to make you both laugh and shudder from terror in each episode.

 

2. The Michelle Obama Podcast

 

Former First Lady Michelle Obama just recently started her hit-podcast where she discusses all things relationships, wellness and life. She had her husband Barack Obama on her very first episode, and the two dove deep into today’s current issues. Michelle offers her unique view on the world as the former president’s wife but also makes the podcast her own. She invites many special people in her life, such as her brother and best friends to talk about anything and everything. Fingers crossed she decides to do another season.

 

3. Office Ladies

 

This is another fun, light-hearted podcast for serious fans of The Office. Co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, AKA Pam and Angela, teamed up to give fans an in-depth look into each episode of The Office. While Office Ladies is still rather new, it continuously sits on top of the charts each week. The two women give listeners a behind-the-scenes look at the making of specific episodes, and fans are eating it up.

 

4. Call Your Girlfriend

 

If you want a mix of pop-culture and politics, then Call Your Girlfriend is a good place to start. Best friends Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman began their podcast in 2014 as a way to discuss topics surrounding women. Aminatou lives in Brooklyn and Friedman lives in Los Angeles, so they record their podcast by calling each other weekly. The two often highlight other women and discuss topics surrounding feminism, women’s wellness, friendship, etc. You name it, they talk about it. They have honest, real conversations about life and are not afraid to speak their minds when it comes to important issues. The women-led podcast is also produced by Gina Delvac.

 

5. Oprah’s SuperSoul Conversations

 

When I think of super inspiring women, Oprah is one of the first people to pop into my head, and I think a lot of people would agree. In her podcast, Oprah interviews all different types of people from all different walks of life and invites listeners to “awaken, discover and connect to the deeper meaning of the world around you.” It’s basically like a self-help book but in podcast form. So, if you’re in need of a pick-me-up, this is the podcast for you.

 

Author: Ashli Ellerman