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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Kick Off Pride Month with Sweet Instagram Post Declaring 'Love Is Love'


Meghan Markle and Prince Harry broke records when they launched their own Instagram account—@SussexRoyal—in April after previously sharing social media channels with Kate Middleton and Prince William.

Since that time, they’ve amassed over 8.4 million followers and have used the platform a little bit differently than we’ve come to expect from the royal family—from baby Archie’s birth announcement to commenting on other royal posts with emojis. They also have a pretty cool strategy where each month they only follow accounts dedicated to a cause or issue that is important to them. Last month it was mental health—and now in June, the Sussexes are celebrating Pride month.

“Continuing with our tradition to rotate the accounts we follow based on causes and social issues that matter to us: For the month of June we ‘proudly’ shine a light on PRIDE,” the Instagram caption reads. “This month we pay tribute to the accounts supporting the LGBTQ+ community – those young and old, their families and friends, accounts that reflect on the past and are hopeful for a deservedly more inclusive future.”

“We stand with you and support you ?,” the caption continues. “Because it’s very simple: love is love.”

The image is a collage of photos from the accounts chosen by the Duke and Duchess to highlight. The organizations are both British and American and include The Trevor Project, the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Stonewall UK, Pride, and It Gets Better.

Markle and Harry also paid a sweet tribute to Princess Diana, who did an enormous amount of work with HIV and AIDS patients in the 1990s prior to her death. They included a 1996 photo of Harry’s mom sitting with a one such patient at London Lighthouse, a center for people affected by HIV and AIDS.

Princess Diana visiting a patient at the London Lighthouse, a center for people affected by HIV and AIDS, in London, October 1996.Jayne Fincher/Getty Images

The response in the comments section has been overwhelmingly positive. Markle’s friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin wrote, “love IS LOVE ✊??❤️????.” Another fan said, “We stan for a couple that promotes inclusivity and diversity! ????❤️”

A number of the organizations also expressed their gratitude to the royal couple. “Thank you so much for your support of lgbtq+ youth! Happy pride month! ❤️?????,” It Gets Better wrote. “Thank you so much for your support in raising awareness! ❤️?,” the Matthew Shepard Foundation added.

It’s great to see the royal family supporting equal rights for all. And they’re not the only big names making a statement to kick off such an important month—also on Instagram, Taylor Swift posted a letter to her senator to raise awareness for the passage of the LGBTQ+-focused Equality Act.





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Meghan Markle Won't Meet With Donald Trump When He Visits England Next Month


Next month President Donald Trump will make an official three-day state visit to the United Kingdom. While he’s there, he’ll be meeting with many members of the royal family at various events. But the lone American royal, Meghan Markle, is noticeably absent from the itinerary.

According to CNN, Queen Elizabeth II will be joined by Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, to greet the president and First Lady Melania Trump at Buckingham Palace. (They’ll accompany the couple to other events over the course of their stay as well.) As for the rest of the family, Prince Harry will join his grandmother for a private lunch with Donald and Melania that afternoon. The first night of Trump’s visit ends with a state banquet, and Prince William and Kate Middleton are expected to attend that.

Markle, however, will reportedly not be joining any of those events—not even the lunch with Prince Harry.

There’s a simple explanation for this: Markle is still officially on maternity leave, so she’ll likely be at home with baby Archie. That said, this may come as a welcome reprieve for Markle. The actress was quite vocal about politics and her dislike of Trump specifically before she became the Duchess of Sussex. (The royal family is expected to remain politically neutral in public.)

“It’s really the moment I go, we film Suits in Toronto, and I might just stay in Canada…” she said on The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore in 2016 about Trump’s election. “Yes, of course, Trump is divisive, think about female voters alone, right? I think it was in 2012 the Republican Party lost the female vote by 12 points; that is a huge number and with as misogynistic as Trump is, and so vocal about it, that is a huge chunk of it.”

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This isn’t Trump’s first visit to the United Kingdom since becoming president. He and Melania met Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle in 2018, when he reportedly kept Her Majesty waiting for 15 minutes which caused a major stir on Twitter. Trump also walked in front of the queen, which the New York Times dubbed a “royal no-no.”

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

If only we could be on the royal family group text to hear what they really think after the visit…



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I Used Only Black-Owned Beauty Brands for a Month, and I'm in Love


Let’s be clear: I’ve always worn my Black Girl crown tall and high, never deflecting the magic that my race carries. But I recently had an epiphany: my beauty routine didn’t always reflect that.

Once only discussed through word of mouth, networks like Instagram and Reddit have helped bubble up black-owned beauty brands to the mainstream. As has the owner of this little makeup brand you’ve probably heard of called Fenty Beauty. You might know her…Rihanna? But according to stats from the U.S. Census Bureau, African-Americans still lag behind other groups when it comes to business ownership. We account for roughly 12 percent of the population, yet we only own just 3.3 percent of businesses. Many reasons go into these factors including less capital, low loan approval rates, and higher interest rates, yet still we push and are on the rise—among these businesses, black women are leading the charge.

From the top of my head, down to my feet, I had to really question myself and see if I had at least one nail polish, chapstick, eyeliner, lipstick, or hair pin by black owners. Even as an experienced beauty writer, the answer was still no. So I decided to go on a detox, putting aside my other beloved brands for a short while to use only black-owned beauty brands for a month straight.

Now, when I say I used only black-owned brands, I mean only—down everything in my shower and medicine cabinet. Yes, even toothpaste. I was worried at first it wouldn’t be possible, but wow was I wrong. Here’s everything I fell in love with over the course of the month.



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I Tried Dove's Aluminum-Free Deodorant for a Month, and I'm Hooked


I’m something of a natural deodorant savant, if you will. Not only do I use them myself, but a few years ago, I also volunteered to test first-generation versions, a somewhat challenging experience that makes me grateful for the sleeker, more effective aluminum-free formulas available today.

And while I dabble in natural deodorant, it’s also worth noting that according to both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society, there’s very little scientific evidence to back up the claim that aluminum in antiperspirants is linked to increased breast cancer risk. But if you err on the side of caution—something I am uniquely qualified to understand—I get it.

Dove’s new 0% Aluminum Deodorant is the newest addition to the beauty behemoth’s offering of underarm products. And it’s the first that’s not an antiperspirant. There’s a difference: Antiperspirants basically plug the pores in your armpits to halt the flow of sweat. And there’s only one ingredient approved by the FDA to do this: Aluminum. Deodorants, on the other hand, simply neutralize or mask the smell of body odor caused by sweat (okay, technically it’s the bacteria breaking down that sweat—sorry). This distinction is important, because you then have to manage your expectations accordingly. If you swipe on an aluminum-free deodorant with the assumption that it’ll keep your sweat under control, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.

The first thing I noticed about the Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant is that it didn’t sting. Some natural deodorants contain baking soda to absorb sweat, which can be irritating, while others zap those odor-causing bacteria with alcohol, which can burn a little if you have any nicks or abrasions from shaving. This formula has neither, which I really appreciate. I also liked that while the stick is white, the creamy formula disappears once it’s on your skin—a plus come summer.

At this point, I should share that I sweat a lot. I’m not being hyperbolic: In the warmer months, I have to mist my entire upper body with Dove’s Dry Spray Antiperspirant before I get dressed, lest I walk around looking like I caught the business end of a fire hydrant. So I know that a deodorant can’t handle my sweat glands, and I’m right. During hot yoga, I can feel beads of sweat trickling down my arms while I’m breathing my way through extended side angle. After an outdoor run, I’m not soaked, but definitely in need of a shower.

But for daily life, the deodorant holds up surprisingly well. When I’m overdressed for the weather, I don’t have to air out my underarms once I shed my coat. And while a sniff test informs me that I have some low-level stank happening after 24 hours, it’s nowhere near as bad as what I’ve whiffed with other aluminum deodorants. I’m impressed by how good the deodorizing is, as well as the comfort level. Unless my heart rate is up, it’s one of the best options I’ve tried.

Because of this, it’s an ideal starting point if you’re looking to switch from antiperspirant to deodorant. In fact, I might even be able to wear it year-round.

Dove 0% Aluminum Deodorant Pomegranate and Lemon Verbena, $6, walmart.com



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14 Books to Read in Honor of Black History Month


We’re one week into Black History Month 2019. And to celebrate, we turned to some of the most brilliants writers and thinkers of color we know to recommend some of their favorite books.

From collections of poems, to poignant YA page-turners, to bonafide classics, the books in this list are a testament to the varied, creative expressions of the black experience. The real question? Which one to pick up first. But don’t stress too much about where to start. Because while this month will be over in a few short weeks, these books will still be here to inspire, thrill, educate, and move readers no matter the season.



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Why February Is the Best Month


It’s still winter. Politics suck, the weather sucks, and we’re all sick of being inside. Our Winteritis stories are for women who can’t read another think piece, who’ve pushed the outer limits of time it’s possible to spend on social media, and who kind of want to shop online and hibernate until spring is here.

It’s been so cold this week that every walk from the car to my apartment has felt like the sinking scene in Titanic. My coat is useless. My gloves and boots mock me. The sky is so clear that when I look up at it in frozen sorrow, the stars spell out jeers and taunts. “You begged for this in July,” they claim. “You were—ha!—too hot.”

Welcome to February. A month rich in misery, in wind chill, in ceaseless “wintry mixes.” A month that is, to quote Thomas Hobbes, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Its claims to fame are Groundhog Day (six more weeks of winter, how dare you), Valentine’s Day (hard pass), and the painful memory of crying in a Pizza Hut bathroom during my friend’s eighth-birthday party because sleepovers made me homesick. But February has an advantage that few other months (or people) can claim. It’s honest. It’s a month without compromises or artifice. It tests us. Tries our will. And if we’re smart and have decent indoor heat, we triumph.

It’s not impressive to rail against February. In fact, it’s weak! It’s groupthink! And I won’t have it. While I could dread February’s arrival, I instead choose to revel in the lack of FOMO that comes with nights so frigid we all just tacitly agree not to make plans. I don’t bow my head in defeat. I stare unblinkingly back at the calendar as I consume worrisome amounts of discounted Valentine’s Day chocolate. I play Groundhog Day on repeat—regardless of the animal’s official prediction—and remind myself that Andie MacDowell is a cinematic treasure none of us deserves (and one no month will take away from me). I shout-remind everybody who will listen that freezing temperatures kill off germs and flu season, and then I tell myself that once every four years, February gives us the Olympic Winter Games. (February says, You’re welcome.)

I start to stand up straighter while confronting my old, outdated grudges against February and wrap a fourth blanket around myself in victory as I recognize that its ruthlessness has forced me to challenge seasonal norms and the myths that come with it! February is not the enemy. It’s the tough-love life coach that pushes us all just a little bit harder. It’s the Mr. Feeny to our Topangas and Corys; the Jimmy Dugan to our Rockford Peaches.

And what do we prefer, anyway? Spring? A season that manipulates us until we dust off our jean jackets, only to be greeted with a surprise snowfall? Summer? A season that makes some of us (me) pass out in convenience stores from dehydration (that one time when I was 17)? Fall? I mean, OK. Fall is fine. I don’t have issues with fall.

But February demands results. It forces us to acknowledge our emotions and reassess how we cope. It pairs sun with icy tundra to make us appreciate just how much this planet has to offer. (Until we kill it with climate change, of course.) It provides junk food, often in heart shapes, unlike its vicious predecessor, January, which doesn’t want us to have pleasure, and March, which is useless. February is unapologetic and brazen and couldn’t care less if we like it or not. February is Mary Poppins.



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