I've Loved Beauty Since I Was Little— Here Are My Lifelong Holy Grail Products

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(Image credit: Bianca Lambert)

As a kid and teenager, I spent hours in my bathroom grooming myself. Looking back, that might have seemed a little vain, but it was less about vanity and more about curiosity. I loved experimenting with new products even if the ads on television and in magazines weren't reflective of my skin and hair needs as a young Black girl. But at the time, as I absorbed all of the stories and images in the magazines I begged my mom for in the checkout line at the grocery store, I knew I wanted my career to be like the names I saw in the bylines on each page.

Now, here I am, but in the digital version. And, I have to say, I'm often in awe that this is my career. How many of us actually get to do what we love for a living? And, I know for sure little B, who used to sit in her room with a Brandy CD on repeat, reading each page of a teen magazine from cover to cover, would be in awe too. Well, at least, I hope she'd think I was kinda cool. 

These days my beauty needs go well beyond glittery lip glosses and hair gels to lay my baby hairs. As I lean into my late 30s, my goal isn't perfection or defying aging. Instead, it's about caring for and loving myself as I am, and all of my holy-grail products are a reflection of that. So I hope you find something in this mix that helps you do the same!

Freelance Contributor