Essence and Walmart Team for “The Beauty of Confidence”

Essence presented "Smart Beauty VII: The Beauty of Confidence," a moderated conversation on beauty and women of color of African descent. Essence's Smart Beauty series joined with Walmart’s "Cultural IQ" series to discuss the power of seeing multi-faceted images and the critical role confidence plays in the African-American community's cultural and emotional transformation. It took place on Friday, February 14, 2014 at Walmart’s corporate office.

The panel discussion featured a mix of beauty industry experts, tastemakers and legends who shared their thoughts on African-American women and beauty including actress Sanaa Lathan, singer Ledisi, actress Tasha Smith and celebrity makeup artist Sam Fine. Essence president Michelle Ebanks and Essence editor-at-large Mikki Taylor served as the event’s presenters.

“The Walmart Cultural IQ panel explored Essence Smart Beauty insights, which underscore the attributes of confidence, optimism, diversity and authentic images—with an emphasis on foundational beauty and natural hair,” said Ebanks. “This was a terrific opportunity to partner with Walmart in presenting the industry’s leading beauty influencers for this important conversation. Beauty marketers who seek to target women of color will find enthusiasts who over-index across all categories, with an estimated $2.6 billion in spending power.”

"Smart Beauty VII" is the latest in a series of innovative studies and panel discussions targeting beauty and retail industry decision makers that provide key insights for marketers and retailers about African-American female consumers.

More in News