Glamazons,
I had a pinch-me moment walking into the #NOLACrawl style suite. I couldn’t believe this was OUR event: that we produced it through our company Style Influencers Group with Dove as a presenting sponsor and super-successful women like celebrity hairstylist Cynthia Alvarez, vlogger Taren Guy and automotive blogger Kimberly Lachelle of Speed Beautiful as co-hosts!
#NOLACrawl was just an idea three years ago where Lexi, Christina and I would attend and host #EssenceFest activities and then ask readers to follow along w our hashtag! Now, we’ve added a full-fledged signature event that people say they look forward to every year.
I once was hesistant to even host events — scared that people wouldn’t come out and I’d end up embarrassed. If I let that fear control me, none of this would even be possible. Here’s to stepping out on faith, conquering fear and accomplishing goals bigger than your dreams.
And yes, for me, the #NOLACrawl Style Suite was a dream come true. Held at the luxe Royal Sonesta hotel on Bourbon Street, the room was transformed with white and gold decor and signature plush Dove-branded pillows.
The empowering book that I customized for my niece, Naomi, Love Your Curls was on display and guests could order it on the spot.
Also on display: the Dove hair products that gave me amaze curl definition in my wash-and-go HERE. I used the shampoo and conditioner to seal in moisture before my hairstylist Seto McCoy wand curled my hair for the event (he’s amazing!).
As a nod to the white and gold theme, I wore a white crop top and skirt by Nha Khanh via Rent The Runway with Alice and Olivia pumps and a red lip from Covergirl (deets HERE).
All the cohosts looked beautiful in their white, black and navy blue dresses!
Even the buttercream cupcakes matched the color theme (hey, white and gold Dove logo)!
The event was a blast. The DJ played the best tunes all day while we danced and mingled with the beautiful crowd.
Guests enjoyed mini-manicures.
Our co-host Kimberly and guests like Myleik Teele of Curlbox, Chasity Saunders and Janeé Bolden enjoyed dry styling by the one and only Cynthia Alvarez and her team of talented hairstylists.
The drinks were flowing!
And we had way too much fun in the photo booth.
Our amazing co-host Kimberly interviewed guests and our co-host Taren Guy [wo]man-on-the-street style for a video on Periscope.
And leading media professionals like Jihan of The Fashion Spot interviewed hair expert Cynthia Alvarez at the event. Cynthia has such great expert advice for caring for your hair (check out our Q&A with her on experimenting with hair color HERE).
Christina played emcee for the evening, gifting some lucky guests with prizes like tickets to Missy‘s concert at the Superdome!
Essence Fest ticket winners
One of Glamazons Blog’s faithful and longest readers, Toya T. (who asked us about tips for attending Essence Fest HERE), walked away with a new Kindle. Toya and I went to college together and I’m so grateful that she regularly reads and supports this blog!
Some of our favorite bloggers came out to support the event, which truly touched me as well. As Lexi says, when we lift each other up, we all win.
Jenell Stewart of Kinky, Curly, Coily Me
Kela Walker of Kela’s Kloset and Ty of Gorgeous in Grey and Digital Sorority with co-host Kimberly
Clockwise from top left: Lexi, Rivea, Taren, Christina, Kimberly, Ty of Gorgeous in Grey, Kela of Kela’s Kloset, Me, Janeé of Bossip, Yanique of Le Chic Boheme
I’m most proud of the energy at the event: beautiful ladies supporting, uplifting and just enjoying each other. And did I mention ‘beautiful’? All the different shades, sizes and curl textures present gave me so much style inspiration. You guys slayed!
I made new friends like Melody, a beauty blogger who lives in New Orleans (check out her site HERE).
I caught up with my dear friend Chasity Saunders, who was recently featured in a fabulous spread in Ebony Magazine! We go way back to my days at The Magazine where Chasity and I would work together on photo shoots. To see how far she’s come since then as a TV host for Centric, entrepreneur, writer and more, it inspires me endlessly!
Even my framily, Faith, Jihan, Cliche and Seto came out to the event and had a blast (my pretty Niki was there in spirit)!
I’m so grateful to see our little idea evolve to an event that represents everything we stand for: loving ourselves, embracing our one-of-a-kind beauty (curls, size, skin, everything!), being positive and uplifting to one another, empowering our women and young girls to define beauty for themselves and the list goes on.
Big thank you to Dove for signing on as presenting sponsor for the event. As I told them at our brunch (more on this later), though we founded Style Influencers Group to connect multicultural influencers and brands, we won’t just work with any brand. Dove is not only inclusive (genuinely!) of black and Latina women, they are committed to spreading a message of empowerment and self-love. That made them the perfect brand to partner with for this event.
The Dove team
Thank you to everyone who attended and everyone who shared the hashtag on social media. I love how you guys have taken our little #NOLACrawl hashtag and made it your own! I love seeing your pics out and about in Nola at Essence Fest, and we’ll be reposting many of them throughout the week on @StyleInfluencers Instagram page. Here’s a Storify with some of your beautiful pics at the #NOLACrawl Style Suite.
And check out a recap video of the #NOLACrawl Style Suite below:
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Until next year!
Kisses,
Glamazon Jessica
Images by Quinntography
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Dove by way of Style Influencers Group. The opinions expressed herein are those of Glamazons Blog and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Dove or Style Influencers Group.
Amazing post! It was such a blast to attend this event! I can’t wait for the next one! Great job!