From ESSENCE Marketing Intern to Beauty Boss of the Year
Written By: Brianna Arps
Fresh outta college and armed a degree in journalism, I ventured out and started by professional career at Us Weekly. It was an…experience to say the least.
Yet! Regardless of how hard it was with finding my way and making sense of living in NYC, my late-grandpa Mr. Roy Lee Brown made sure to always show his support — which, unbeknownst to me at the time, included buying copies of the infamous celeb gossip mag and saving them in literal stockpiles that I'm sure drove my late-grandma Mrs. Minnie Lee Brown crazy!
So glad I thought to snap this picture on a surprise trip home to St. Louis back in October 2016. It never mattered to him that I wasn't actually contributing copy or featured in the magazine, in any way. He just knew I played a role somehow.
Today, my name and my own business IS inked on those glossy sheets I once obsessed over as a kid. And, we're noted in the same publication I interned at during college almost 10 years ago. *real tears* Papa, I ordered extra for you and Mama, you see???
Never in a million years could I have imagined anything like this for myself. Some of you may recall our journey to launching MOODEAUX, and how becoming an entrepreneur was quite literally the LAST thing on my mind. Fast-forward to today, and all I can say is: ESSENCE, I'm infinitely grateful for this opportunity to help showcase the brilliance of being Black in Fragrance.
If you'd like to read more, check out this link HERE. Or! If you're a collector and wish to grab a March/April issue hard copy featuring 85 tried-and-true products that address every part of your beauty routine, Barnes & Noble has you covered — pun intended, LOL.
xXBA
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