Ari Lennox’s ESSENCE 2024 Festival Look Delivers Classic Beauty – Essence

Last night, the thirtieth ESSENCE Festival of Culture kicked off the primary day of its weekend-long Evening Concert Series at Caesars Superdome. In between performances from legendary guests including The Roots, Juvenile and Birdman, Ari Lennox delivered one in all the night’s finest moments of beauty. “I love beat face and I wish it was more common,” Lennox told ESSENCE ahead of the festival weekend.

The R&B star is thought for her backstage beauty moments, often featuring warm metals, glassy lips, and matte finishes. While her grooves could also be reserved for onstage performances, Lennox looked natural on the Superdome, appearing in pale powder eyeshadow and dark brown lips (just like her look from the Nostalgia Tour in Ontario). Looking to artists like Solange, Madonna, and Tammi Terrell for inspiration, she typically pairs her earthy groove with natural curls or a shiny wig.

But at ESSENCE Fest, she had one other trick up her sleeve. Although she’s used to a high ponytail, she took the stage last night with a protracted, wavy texture. Two medium-length strands fell to the perimeters of her face, framing her muted makeup with a matte look. Ironically, “I really hate doing my hair because it’s very manipulative and I’m always afraid of my delicate strands breaking,” she told ESSENCE. “I wish I could be more relaxed in their chairs.”

Still, she swept her locks aside, wiping sweat from her brow with pointed oval French suggestions. The classic style has develop into her signature manicure of the moment as she holds the microphone with thick suggestions during her recent performances. Identical to her nails from last 12 months’s ESSENCE Fest and her Nostalgia Tour, the short stage look has since undergone minor modifications, similar to a square nail for the Blue Note Jazz Festival and an extended, nude coffin shape for Afro Nation. And last night, her unpretentious moment of beauty easily brought it home.