Essence Fest Backlash, Purple Blush, & The Humbling of TikTok stars
plus a can’t-put-down novel, and the coolest radio host you’ve never heard of (yet)
🌶 THE GIST OF IT
Welcome to your biweekly roundup of all the contemporary cool girl news that’s fit to print. We’re breaking down what happened at Essence Fest, a TikTok creator whose “I quit!” moment didn’t go as planned, and the beauty trend that’ll have you blushing (literally).
Also inside: a book that will make you examine the different ways we encounter heartbreak and a TikTok girlie you’ll wish you found sooner.
Let’s go.
💥 BACKLASH AT ESSENCE FEST
This year’s Essence Festival of Culture- meant to celebrate Black creativity and community- sparked more frustration than fanfare. From last-minute schedule chaos and ticket mismanagement to panels that felt more like PR than substance, many attendees left feeling unheard and underserved. Not a great look for an event that brands itself as “for us, by us.”
Beyond the chaotic scheduling, ticketing misfires, and what some described as “panel pandemonium,” a deeper issue had people talking: the fest no longer being under Black American leadership.
After Essence Communications was acquired by Essence Ventures in 2018 (initially Black-owned under Richelieu Dennis), recent reports suggest that the company is no longer majority Black-owned, with leadership and operational decisions increasingly driven by non-Black execs. For an event rooted in Black cultural power and legacy, that shift stung for a lot of people and it showed. It brings up a lot of interesting questions- what do you do if/when the ‘best person for the job’ does not reflect the core values of your company? Is it more important for a for-profit business to be strategically aligned or fundamentally aligned?
Trending Tweet: “Essence Fest is starting to feel like Coachella with shea butter.”
🧐 Bigger question: Can a brand still claim cultural authenticity when its leadership no longer reflects the culture?
And (shameless plug incoming) here’s a TikTok from my perspective as a brand analyst about what went wrong this time around:
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🚨 WHEN GOING “FULL-TIME CREATOR” GOES LEFT
TikToker @Hubs.Life was living the relatable dad-meets-lifestyle-influencer dream. With a TikTok audience of over 900K people, this influencer amassed a large community of people who enjoyed his takes on embracing the ‘slow and steady wins the race’ nature of salaried work in a timeline where having a full-time job can make you a social pariah in some spaces (sidebar- don’t live in Atlanta if you shame easily from being gainfully employed lol). So when he quit his 9–5 to go all-in on content, it turned to out to be that the internet was more-so a fan of the message, but not exactly the messenger. But the likes didn’t exactly pay the bills- and recent videos reveal a man spiraling in real time and doing the equivalent of ‘digital panhandling’.
This TikTok does a decent job of explaining the fall off:
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💜 BEAUTY TAP: THE RISE OF PURPLE BLUSH
First it was peach, then cherry- now purple blush is having a moment. Yes, lavender on your cheeks. It sounds terrifying, but the cooler undertones actually pop on a wide range of skin tones—and bring out your natural flush like you just got good news and did a brisk walk.
👑 Hot tip: Try it with minimal eye makeup and a bold lip. It’s 90s meets runway minimalism.
💄 TT picks: Fenty Beauty’s Cheeks Out Cream Blush in Drama Cla$$ (trust Rihanna). Glossier’s Cloud Paint in ‘Wisp’. e.l.f. Camo Liquid Blush in ‘Bold Faced Lilac’. Danessa Myricks Beauty’s Yummy Skin Blurring Balm Powder in ‘Grape Soda’.
📚 TT BOOK REC: How to Fall Out of Love Madly
If you’ve ever romanticized a relationship past its expiration date (haven’t we all?), Jana Casale’s novel How to Fall Out of Love Madly is for you. It’s dry, funny, and just biting enough while following three women navigating messy love, friendship, and the quiet pain of being the “cool girl” when you’re really falling apart.
Read it if you: Loved Fleabag, cried during Frances Ha, or have ever stared at your phone like it owes you closure.
🎧 TT’S TIKTOK GIRL OF THE MOMENT
My favorite person in my phone as of late is @elisapeta27 – part internet cool girl, part turnt up DJ. She curates dreamy playlists on TikTok and hosts a (slightly up tempo?) indie-soul radio show from her bedroom. Think Sofia Coppola meets pirate radio. It’s a vibe in the best way.
🔊 Stream her show here and prepare to have a bunch of new songs for your car drives.
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🧠 CULTURE CANDY
Here are 3 smart, stylish reads for your subway scroll or evening wine-down:
Inside the Booming (and Bizarre) Industry of AI Girlfriends - The future is flirty, and maybe a little dystopian.
“What If I Don’t Want the Corner Office?” - A stats-heavy treatise on the reality that Gen-Z (and some millennials tbh) don’t care about outdated work accolades.
“Want Some Company? Walk Down the Hall” - This article makes the case for living in the same building as your relatives to achieve peak happiness.
🖤 UNTIL NEXT TIME...
Wear purple blush to your next dinner date. Don’t quit your day job (yet). And always, ALWAYS Google the festival schedule before booking that flight.
xx Jenn,
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-xoxo Jenn