We saw her grow up right before our eyes. From a teen on MTV’s Run’s House, begging her father to get a tattoo, to a successful business woman manning her own empire, Angela Simmons has come into her own and proven herself as an intelligent, ambitious, dedicated entrepreneur. She was the editor for Angela’s Rundown, a monthly magazine targeted for youth, which covered teen topics, style, music, and fashion. In 2007, Angela and her sister Vanessa launched Pastry Footwear,  under their family’s line of footwear, Run Athletics. The first product line released was the “Cake Collection”, inspired by their favorite pastries. Pastry is now a household name and a multi- million dollar company.

At only 24 years of age, Angela is quickly securing her spot as a successful entrepreneur and doing an impeccable job maintaining her family’s ‘name’ and reputation. We sat down and talked to Ms. Simmons about her current business ventures, work ethic and passions. Check out what this business savvy young lady had to say!

Are you a fun, free-spirited, fashion forward women with an endless love for urban culture? If so, then you’re already up on Fearless Magazine, a fun, inspiring publication for ‘us’, that has already had some of black Hollywood’s hottest stars grace the cover within its first year of publication. The magazine title ‘Fearless’ is fitting for the Publisher & Creator of the publication, Arian Simone, an ambitious, fearless go-getter who is chasing her dreams, while inspiring others.

Not only a magazine publisher, but a public relations and event pro, Simone is credited with doing publicity work on films such as Takers, Quantam of Solace, Hancock, Seven Pounds, This Christmas, Limitless and many more. She was also the Head Women in Charge, planning Lil Wayne’s and Braylon Edwards 25th birthday parties, Chris Brown’s MTV My Super Sweet 18 and a plethora of other  entertainment industry events. This multi-faceted business woman was listed as one of Ebony Magazine’s top 30 business leaders under 30 and has been featured in various media publications.

With such an impeccable resume at such a young age, who would have thought that just a few years ago this mogul in the making was homeless and sleeping in her car. Shocking, right? Flip the page to read more on Arian’s story of hardship, struggle, faith, survival and success.

Meet Tanya Fields, the Creator and Executive Director of the BlK ProjeK.  The BLK ProjeK is a much needed program that seeks to address food justice, public and mental health issues as they specifically relate to under served women of color. Through culturally relevant education, beautification of public spaces, urban gardening and community programming, Fields has set out to empower less fortunate women of color. The BlK ProjeK looks to create easy accessible resources and enrich the lives of women who are routinely overlooked and overburdened yet serve an important and critical role in the larger fabric of society. The goal is to strengthen overall mental and public health, as well as to elevate the collective self esteem of the larger communities they live in.

Turn the page to learn more about this phenomenal women and all the extraordinary work she is doing for us and our community.  We had a blast chatting it up with Ms.Tanya, who’s not only informed and intelligent, but also funny as heck and full of charisma!

by Tianna Robinson

Unless you are living under a rock, you’ve probably seen Love & Hip Hop and it is most likely a guilty pleasure of yours. It seems that Vh1 loves to  show the drama, cat-fighting and sometimes downright ignorance.  I highly doubt that a lot of you know that the drama-fueled reality show doesn’t only feature rapper’s girlfriends but also a mega manager and entertainment production pro.  This season’s newcomer, Yandy Smith is entertainment powerhouse with years invested in the industry.

We got a chance to sit down and chat with Ms. Smith about her career and the ambitious business woman she is when the camera’s aren’t rolling. Turn the page to see what she has to say about how to make it in the entertainment industry.

Meet Danita King, the Principal and Founder of PR Noir, one of the fastest growing boutique public relations firms in New York City. Hailing all the way from Houston Texas, this young CEO opened PR Noir in 2007, with a mission to fill the void for innovative, brand-centric PR.

Graduating from Tulane University, magna cum laude  with a triple major B.S. in English, Spanish and African Diaspora Studies, King later received a full academic scholarship to Boston University, where she earned a Master of Science degree in Corporate Public Relations in 2003. She then began her career as an apprentice at a contemporary sportswear fashion showroom in London, later moving to New York City to work in-house positions for fashion and luxury brands Joseph Abboud and Coach in New York.

Throughout her career, King has executed strategic PR campaigns and media-driven events for such notable brands as Bill Blass, Simmons Jewelry Company (Russell Simmons), Disney, August Silk, Bongo, VH1 and Target, among others. She has also worked with  a number of celebrity, sports and music-driven campaigns and holds close strategic partnerships with celebrity management, publicists and record label executives.

PR Noir has a solid client roster of boutique and mass-market brands in the fashion, beauty, sports, luxury goods and lifestyle categories. King has worked hard to carve a unique, niche specialty and competitive edge: equal footing and relationships with both mainstream and multi-ethnic media.

Flip the script to see what advice King has to offer for young black women wanting to break into PR or start their own business.

Last Wednesday night, we had the pleasure of attending a holiday pampering spa event with Lala Anthony at TenoverTen Salon in NYC.  At this intimate event hosted by Lala Anthony and her stylist Andrea Livolsi (stylist to stars including Kerry Washington, Rihanna, Keri Hilson, the Pinkett-Smith family & more), a handful of guests were treated to manicures and pedicures, foot massages,  delicious cocktails by XRFL, a delicious pink liqueur and beauty products to stuff our  holiday stockings with. The room was filled with hot holiday fashion all around, from the pink Christmas tree, to Lala’s personal clothing rack, to the Christian Louboutin shoes that were scattered throughout the room as eye candy. La arrived with her father looking gorgeous as usual with a cream lace dress  and her signature Louboutin’s. With a hot pink drink in one hand and her daddy by her side, we had a beautiful ball! Lala and Andrea shared some fashion and beauty tips for the holiday season:

With holiday party season quickly approaching, we like to think of sparkly false eye-lashes as trimming for the eyes. They are fun, flirty and festive! Whether or not you dare to rock these extreme lashes, you have to admit they are eye-catching and exciting! Check out our favorite ways to rock the funky faux lashes.

We’ve seen Lala go from Ludacris’s sidekick on the radio, to  MTV  VJ, to the courtside Louboutin-rocking, Hermes-toting TV personality and basketball wife that we know and love today. Lala has stepped her game up  in every department; hair, makeup, clothes, and shoes. Her style and fashion sense have evolved tremendously. Vasquez-Anthony has come a long way since her days on as the fashion clueless cutie on MTV you see above. Take a peek through our gallery of Lala’s fashion evolution over the years — the good, the bad, and the ummm, no girl!

Tyra Banks is not only famous for being one of the highest paid and successful black models. She’s also the executive producer and creator of the international phenomenon “America’s Next Top Model,” an Emmy Award-winning talk show host, actress — and now author. The rise of her first novel “Modelland” to New York Times best-seller status is the perfect occasion to celebrate this woman for all that she has done. She is even making moves on the web front with her fashion site Type F, showing that her entrepreneurial chops extend beyond the entertainment world.

As a style icon, Tyra has become an inspiration for black women all over the world by embracing her curves, teaching us how to smile with our eyes and rocking these stylish yet elegant hairstyles. Over the years, this mogul’s has rocked braids, weaves, extensions and wigs — and even her own real hair — but her trademark look is the lace-front wig. The versatility of Tyra Banks’ hairstyles reflect her multifarious career. Flashback through the years to see her everchanging hairstyles and evolution from a model to a modern day mogul!