Melanin, Money, & Mystique
Doing the math on Rihanna's Superbowl Halftime Show, Selena Gomez's beautiful support of mental health, Marti Moore sets up shop, and Melissa Butler makes history
Rihanna’s Winning Formula
Truthfully, I had no plans to write anything about Rihanna’s Superbowl Halftime show. There were more than enough opinions about her performance and her surprise pregnancy announcement. Then came her groundbreaking British Vogue cover story featuring her, ASAP Rocky, and their young son captured by Inez and Vinoodh. But that alone didn’t sway me either.
What did convince me was two articles: the first was a great piece on how Rihanna's mystique helps her win big by Chris Richards in The Washington Post. He nailed it when he wrote, “In a digital era when shameless overexposure seems like a prerequisite for any kind of stardom—on TikTok, in Congress—Rihanna remains cool and unthirsty, operating on her own terms and timeline.” Richards surmised that afterward, she would go back to her “silent place,” but what we are quickly realizing is that Rihanna is playing a long game.
But instead of the famous line “Show Me the Money!” She was really saying “I’ll show you the money.” Or that she is “where the money reside(s).”
Let’s take a look at the numbers, as reported by Forbes Australia (the second article thatprompted me to write on this subject).
Viewers: 118.7M (5.7M more than the game)
Fenty Beauty searches: Up 833% (yes, you read that correctly)
Fenty (safe for pregnancy) search: Up 3,333%
Then there is something called Media Impact value, which assigns a monetary value to marketing initiatives. According to Forbes, Launchmetrics rated the pregnancy announcement, the Fenty 3-second product placement, her bodysuit, coat, and sneakers. In the twelve hours following her show, the total for all of them amounts to more than $26.3M in media impressions. Woo Chile!
So while people—both professional critics and everyone we know—are debating those 13 minutes, Rihanna was really giving us a glimpse of her playbook. That is what we should be paying attention to. Lest we forget that she is a pop princess turned billionaire. And she still has moves left that we haven’t seen. All we can do is stay tuned.
Marti Moore Brings Melanin Grace to DUMBO
You already know that I enjoy bringing you updates on my former podcast guests, especially as they achieve goals they discuss during our chats on the show. This week, I want to tell you about Marti Moore (episode 26). She spent a good portion of her career as a beauty buyer and marketing executive for big retailers like Macy’s and Lord & Taylor. And at the time she was doing those jobs, there weren’t many other Black women who had achieved her level of success.
But after leaving department stores behind, she has poured her expertise into Melanin Grace, which sells clean beauty offerings from Black, Brown, and women-owned brands. During our interview, Marti mentioned how the pandemic had delayed her desire to open a retail store. Connecting with potential customers IRL was extremely important to her.
After doing pop-up events, Melanin Grace has found a place where customers can come and check out her carefully curated collection of skincare, makeup, and wellness products. (Remember, she was a buyer so she has an eye for this.) And that home is in DUMBO inside Empire Stores, a modern urban marketplace in a revitalized warehouse near the Brooklyn waterfront. Check it out if you are in the area, or you can always buy from her online store.
Melissa Butler’s Milestone Move
I have probably said this before, but I have had an affection for Melissa Butler, the founder of The Lip Bar since she brought the cocktail-themed lipsticks she made in her kitchen to my office at Essence in 2011 or 12. In the decade since I have been rooting for her success along with her now legions of fans and customers. And when I am not rocking my nude lip gloss, I wear her Liquid Mattes—Know it All, Bawse Lady, and Rebel—Quick Concealer (I have several shades) as well as her Just a Tint (Almond). Yes, although I don’t spend my days as a beauty editor, I still have a significant collection of products. And it is important to me to support Black and Brown-owned brands whenever possible.
So now I am going to have to make room on my skincare shelves for TLB Skincare, a vegan collection of products. And as you’ve no doubt read elsewhere, and it bears repeating, Melissa now has the largest Black-owned makeup collection in Target stores. This is significant because doing business with big box retailers has put many companies out of business. They were ill-prepared for the cost involved in expansion to more stores, shipping, transportation, and the importance of meeting delivery dates. plus the payment cycles. So doing this for her first brand, adding Thread to the mix, and now skincare means she and her team are juggling a lot of balls. So I got it to keep it Detroit (because that’s where she’s headquartered) and use the words of Marty Mar….
Selena Gomez Stand Out Statement
Have we reached oversaturation when it comes to celebrity brands? It is often predicted, yet these brands keep on rolling out. Month after month. For many, it is a money grab, and I can’t say I blame any of them for wanting to cash in on consumer dollars. But others, like Selena Gomez, are doing their best to attach meaning to marketing their name. For the singer/actress connecting a fund dedicated to mental health to Rare Beauty through her Real Impact Fund has real-world benefits. Among her recipients for the winter cohort are The Black Teacher Project, The Mindful Life Project, and The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. For the complete list, check out the Rare Beauty LinkedIn post. We have got to appreciate Selena’s honesty about her need to get help and offer encouragement and avenues for others to do the same.
That’s all for this week. And just a heads-up that next week’s newsletter, like this one, won’t be out until the following Monday, and after that, we will be back to a Friday schedule.
And since I talked a lot about money, I will leave you with this O’Jays classic.