CBInsights outlined 15 Beauty trends to watch in 2020.  We've picked our top 6.  Here they are:

(6)  The Rise of Beauty Incubators

(5). Beauty & Technology 

(4). From Farm-to-Face 

(3). Sustainable Packaging is Non-Negotiable

(2.) Inclusive Beauty Expands

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and our top trend to watch?  

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(1). Beauty & Wellness Merge.  Beyond Product to Beauty as a Lifestyle.

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READ MORE AT CBINSIGHTS

Eyelash extension is big business.  At $120 - $350 per service application, the business of lashes is only getting bigger.  In 2018, lash related questions were among the  top beauty searches on Google.  So, as eyelash extension grows, what does it say for complimentary products?  Vogue Business digs deep and explores this emerging segment of beauty.

As eyelash extensions boom, a small industry of associated services is also on the rise. Many customers get extensions done at a salon, but at-home treatments are increasingly common, thanks to a host of startup brands, which offer relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use alternatives.

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READ MORE AT VOGUE BUSINESS

We've outlined 5 opportunities in Beauty no one (in any significantly competitive) way is paying attention to.  #5 Natural Hair Coloring; #4 Tween and Teen Beauty; #3 Beauty Tools; #2 Menopause and #1 Postpartum Skincare.  According to WGSN Research, expect to see postpartum skincare brands emerge.  Why? Immediately after giving birth, both progesterone and estrogen levels drop, with progesterone quickly reaching near menopausal levels. This huge seesaw leads to hair loss, fatigue, depression and anxiety, but also contributes to unbalanced thyroid and adrenal glands. It can take up to a year for hormones to return to pre-pregnancy levels and during that time your skin and hair are in turmoil.  Can anyone relate?

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READ MORE AT 25BWB

Don't miss the natural hair movement in Brazil. Black Brazilians make up more than half of the country's 211 Million population.  That's over 100 million people and more than DOUBLE the Black population in the US.  The Black Beauty in Brazil market has been growing at a healthy 20% thanks impart to an emerging sense of empowerment and a growing number of products geared towards women with natural hair.  The hashtag #CabeloCrespo "kinky hair" which was once used on hair straightening video has now been embraced to celebrate one's curly locks.  The opportunity is now in Brazil.

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READ MORE AT THE WASHINGTON POST

In a move that further demonstrates the attractive nature of the skincare Clean Beauty segment, Shiseido acquires Drunk Elephant, the clean beauty brand launched by stay at home Mom of four, Tiffany Masterson, in 2012.  Major kudos to Alisa Williams (25BWB), VP at VMG Partners, the Private Equity investors behind Drunk Elephant and other coveted brands like Briogeo. 

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READ MORE AT WWD

For those that did not know, BLK/OPL, the brand that long catered to Black Women (hence the BLK in the name) was not Black Owned.  And while women of color certainly use non-black owned brands (anyone that comes near my Bobbi Brown Face Base, it's on #nocap #alllove), it's fair to say most of us thought BLK/OPL was indeed black owned.  Confusion aside, as of September 2019, the historic brand is now owned be two powerhouse black women.  Desiree Rogers (yes, that Desiree @iamthatdesiree) and longtime friend and businesswoman, Cheryl McKissack.

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READ MORE AT THE ROOT

I loved magazines, but I always skipped the beauty pages. The voices behind them didn’t speak to me. The faces on the pages didn’t look like me. The products weren’t geared towards me. I had no place there. Growing up, I had always heard my Nigerian parents and their friends say: “This is not our country.” And so, despite being British, I parked any expectation to be included in the beauty industry. It never occurred to me that I could be a part of this world, let alone driving change from within.

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READ MORE AT THE GUARDIAN

In Hollywood, your squad is EVERYTHING and it's safe to say, Zendaya's squad is EVERYTHING. THR names cover stars hairstylist, (left) Ursula Stephens and makeup artist, (right) Sheika Daily - both part of Zendaya's squad.  Also on the list is 25BWB's very own, Lacy Redway (we love you Lacy!). 

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READ MORE AT THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Starting a business is easy, but making it scalable and able to last the test of time is what’s hard.

Recently, serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, best-selling author, and PR and marketing guru Arian Simone launched the Fearless Fund along with actress and entrepreneur Keshia Knight Pulliam. Outside of being the familiar face we saw growing up on The Cosby Show, Keshia is now a fearless business leader, the founder of the spice line Keshia’s Kitchen and the mastermind behind the nonprofit The Kamp Kizzy Foundation.

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READ MORE AT MOGUL MILLENNIAL 

August 22 was National Black Women Equal Pay Day and social media was abuzz.  Now we must act.  The PayGap for Black women won't go away on its own. Organizations have an urgent responsibility to do more. Catalyst has outlined steps to get that process underway:

1. Conduct an internal #PayEquity study. You can't fix what you don't measure.

2. Support pay #transparency by publishing salaries or salary bands, along with clear explanations.

3. Evaluate #talent development systems for #bias.

4. Help combat the harmful #EmotionalTax that many Black women encounter at work.

 

READ MORE AT CATALYST

Black Enterprise celebrates the fearless female executives who have managed both to stand firm in the face of hostile corporate environments and to take the bull by the metaphorical horns, powering their careers to the top.

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The recent Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey and LeanIn showed that black women receive the least support of all women (and significantly less support than men) from their managers, with just 35% reporting that their managers create opportunities for them to showcase their work, promote their contributions to others, or socialize with them outside of work. 

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So how have dozens of black women overcome these obstacles to make it to the top of the corporate ladder? By owning their power, of course.

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READ MORE AT BLACK ENTERPRISE

So, how did Fenty manage to break through the noise that is the multi-hundred billion dollar beauty industry? While having a mega-star founder and highly-reviewed products in terms of quality certainly does help, Sandy Saputo, chief marketing officer at Kendo Brands, says that the authentic marketing at play cannot be overlooked. 

“From the beginning, our founder Rihanna was very clear that absolutely no one was to be excluded,” Ms. Saputo said in a recent interview with Google. Bringing her vision of “Beauty for All” to the masses required the Fenty team to “break and disrupt all the traditional marketing rules and carve a new path,” one that would ultimately serve as a broad “call to action for all industries to do more and challenge the status quo.” 

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READ MORE AT THE FASHION LAW

Glamour names 12 women that are changing the face of beauty and we're delighted to see Black Women fully represented including Jackie Aina, Lacy Redway (25BWB), Ann Marie Nelson-Bogle and Esi Eggleston Bracey.  This year has made one thing clear: Women are showing up, stepping up, and taking what they deserve. From politics to pop culture, women aren't just leveling the playing field, they're owning it.

 

READ MORE AT GLAMOUR 

When Renae Bluitt attends a screening of her documentary, She Did That, attendees frequently thank her for sharing the stories of black women who persevered to fulfill their dreams of owning their own businesses.

“A lot of the women who've seen the film are also entrepreneurs who felt like they were alone," Bluitt said. “They said it felt good to know that there were other black women dealing with some of the same challenges and that they were able to overcome them."

For the first time, they felt seen.

Their numbers are growing, but black women still remain underrepresented in the startup community.

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READ MORE AT JPMORGAN CHASE

There is an ironic complexity to these women’s experiences: they feel physically visible yet cognitively invisible. In other words, their underrepresentation makes black women highly visible in their workplaces. As Tara (Executive Vice President, consumer products) told us, “You stand out more. You are the only one in the room.” (To protect our interviewees’ privacy, all the names in this article are pseudonyms.)

Yet, at the same time, many of our participants expressed feeling invisible. For example, one woman said, “I’m the best choice for this job, and I’m probably not on your radar screen.” And Deana (President, consumer products) recalled a time when her subordinate was invited to her boss’s house for dinner — but she wasn’t: “I’m reporting to this person, I live maybe two miles away, three or four miles, never invited to their home. Never invited to their home and others were, including someone who reported to me, who I put in the job, a white male.”

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READ MORE AT HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW

A new study by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Co. paints a troubling picture about the treatment of black women in the workplace.

According to the Women in The Workplace 2018 survey, women of color are not only significantly underrepresented, they are far less likely than others to be promoted to manager, more likely to face everyday discrimination and less likely to receive support from their managers.

The researchers surveyed 279 companies employing more than 13 million people and talked to 64,000 employees on their workplace experiences. More than 90% of the companies polled said prioritizing gender and racial diversity leads to better business results. Yet only 42% of employees surveyed said they see gender diversity as a company priority and only 22% see racial diversity as a company priority.

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READ MORE AT FORBES