Keke Palmer new position of brand director for Nature’s Cream This is a natural evolution for her as she is known for her authenticity and love of storytelling. In this role, Palmer enjoys telling stories differently—through the lens of marketing and community engagement.

“What I liked most was the opportunity to tell the story from a different point of view,” Palmer tells ESSENCE exclusively. “As an artist, I tell stories through acting, hosting and music, but with marketing it’s a bigger story.” Palmer emphasizes that this larger narrative is rooted in community – something near her heart as a Chicagoan.

Creme of Nature, founded by a hairstylist on Chicago’s South Side, has long been a staple in black hair care. Now Palmer is thrilled to be part of a brand with such a legacy and needs to proceed that legacy with a seat at the corporate table.

As someone known for championing self-expression and individuality, Palmer brings her trademark energy to her new role. “I’m excited about the fans’ feedback. From the moment I announced the role, people started telling me what products they wanted me to come back to.” But beyond the products, Palmer strives to offer fans with greater than only a direct spokesperson. “I would like to point out people how I make a set of flexi-rods or methods to get the perfect silk press. It’s about fiddling with your hair and ensuring you’ll be able to manipulate it without harming it.

Palmer is keen about combining traditional brand elements with modern trends while maintaining its deep roots in the Black community. “We are wondering how to keep this traditional element, but at the same time make it reflect contemporary hairstyles and fashion. Millennials are in a space where we are tapping into our big boss energy, and I want that to be reflected in the brand as well.”

As for future projects, Palmer is excited to depart the personal and practical behind. “I’m an IRL person. I really like the demo moment, the girl moment, the togetherness moment. I would like to create opportunities where we will meet and discuss methods to use these products. She also enjoys supporting local hair stylists and contributing to the community in a big way.

Palmer’s exposure to hair care began in childhood, when the joy of experimenting with hair became fun moments together with her mother. “As a baby, I all the time played with my hair. My mom was brushing my hair and I used to be fiddling with it until she got here back and said, “Girl, what did you do?” Now Palmer desires to bring back that very same sense of fun and experimentation in hair care, emphasizing that it is not about perfection, but about having fun with the process together with your family members.

Through her new role, Palmer will make an enduring impact by combining her personal experiences, community mindset and creativity to steer Creme of Nature into an exciting new chapter.

Forgiveness is one of the vital difficult acts in life, but it may also bring the best achievement. It lifts weights, clears the mind and creates a way of emotional and mental freedom like no other. Tytus Kapharrepresents the intersection of a deeply personal narrative and exploration of family, trauma and reconciliation through each painting and film. This recent work on display at Gagosian Beverly Hills invites viewers to explore the artist’s perspective through art as he grapples with the long-standing complexities of his relationship along with his estranged father. The exhibition will present 15 recent paintings that play a key role in his feature film of the identical title, a semi-autobiographical work by which artistic processes and life stories intertwine.

Kaphar’s creation of each of those projects began with an unexpected meeting. When he visited his grandmother’s house in Michigan along with his family, he met his father, who had been absent for over 15 years. This unexpected encounter stirred unresolved emotions from his past, leading him to reluctantly film his father and later create a brief documentary about their complicated relationship. However, the doctor didn’t provide Kaphar with the closure or understanding he sought; it captured their dynamic, but not how they got thus far. “The script I had been writing in my head for 15 years about what I would say to him when we met him just didn’t make any sense anymore,” he says.

Years passed, and Kaphar desired to pass on this experience to his two sons who were approaching maturity. This became the premise for the film, which tells the story of black artist Tarrell Rodin, who’s on the cusp of skilled success when his father, La’Ron, re-enters his life in a desperate try and reconcile. Starring André Holland and John Earl Jelks, the narrative reflects the artist’s life as Tarrell confronts the emotional and psychological scars of his past. Discussing the film, Kaphar explains, “I started this process because I wanted to find a way to talk to my two sons about how different my life is from theirs.”

appeared because the visual equivalent of film. They capture the essence of the film’s narrative and the emotional weight that underpins it. Each piece is full of personal items, neighborhood facades, and poignant portraits that reflect themes of absence, loss, and the load of family history. Kaphar’s mastery of mixing traditional oil painting techniques with unconventional materials similar to gold leaf and tar challenges viewers to grapple with the tensions between divine transcendence and the burdens of the past.

The striking play of colours on his large-scale canvases captures the vividness of memories, each painful and beautiful. For example, in (2023) Tytus paints an overloaded truck, symbolizing his childhood trauma. These heavy images resonate with the burden of carrying the past, the essential theme of the film and exhibition. The trucks and neighborhood houses depicted in his works turn into symbols of community, resilience, and emotional baggage that should be handled to be able to move forward.

One of probably the most fascinating paintings (2023) uses materials taken from the painting. It symbolizes each transcendence and the darkness of family wounds, fitting into the film’s climactic scene by which Tarrell reflects on his past. Kaphar’s creative decision to make use of images as an integral a part of the film – physically moving them across the screen during flashback sequences – shows how deeply intertwined these two art forms are. “If I am to create a bridge between these images and the film itself,” Kaphar states, “it is a conversation about absence. It’s a conversation about what should have been there and what wasn’t there, and how do you tell the story when there are gaps in the narrative?”

Kaphar’s involvement in filmmaking is a natural extension of his storytelling as a visible artist. He describes this process as a part of his ongoing journey of exploring recent media when the work requires it. “If you can only paint, your creativity and artistic outlet will only be paintings,” says Titus. “But if you want to learn new practices, as they say, the sky is the limit.” This philosophy led him to pursue filmmaking, allowing him to inform a story that can’t be fully conveyed through paint alone.

At the center of each the exhibition and the film is the concept of forgiveness. Kaphar makes it clear that forgiveness isn’t a few neatly wrapped, joyful ending. “Movies really want to provide a clean ending… although sometimes the reality is that we don’t have a happy ending so much as a hopeful beginning,” he reflected. His personal journey along with his father continues, and each the exhibition and the film embody this slow, often painful healing process.

transcends the boundaries of art and film, offering a raw and moving exploration of family relationships, generational trauma, and the complex path of healing. Through his art, Kaphar invites viewers to confront their very own absences, wounds and hopes for reconciliation.

Earlier this week, Victoria’s Secret held its first fashion show after a six-12 months hiatus, calling on all supermodels to return to the confetti-decorated runway. Silk ironing season is in full swing, an evening stuffed with straight hair would not be a surprise. However, Imaan Hammam – and lots of other angels – couldn’t be tamed, sweating their mane while blowing lionesses.

Hammam’s underwear-clad body wasn’t the only joke of the night. Her natural hair, lush and textured, resembled a horny evening, the heat lingering between each twist of her brushed curls. Volume set the mood as the lead hairstylist Duffy— known for his aforementioned Marc Jacobs Fall/Winter 2024 show — upped the ante on the bombshells Victoria’s Secret is known for.

While some angels, like Anok Yai and Jasmine Tookes, sported appropriately slicked-back high ponytails and a silk press, others could possibly be seen sporting electrified hairstyles. Tyra Banks, Blésnya Milner and Joan Smalls sported more straight, curly hairstyles, but Hammam’s mid-back extensions retained their natural texture.

Between the fall of Victoria’s Secret— exposed because of problematic definitions of gender, body image and relationship with the deceased Jeffrey Epstein— and them controversial returnloads trusted the fantastic thing about the show to redefine their approach to inclusivity. It’s no secret that the lingerie giant is separated from salvation by greater than only a push-up bra. However, the show’s voluminous hairstyles could still prioritize the beauty and flexibility that Black women are known for.