As the temperature dips and we’re reminded that fall is not just about fierce fashions but also cold weather, we have to make an extra effort to moisturize. Every inch of us, from the hair on our heads to our lips and skin need an additional dose of nourishment to deal with the whipping winds, or at least not another product that strips us of oils. With that in mind, we came up with a list of our favorite products, newer offerings on the market, that will keep you from drying out as we move through fall and get ready for another likely harsh winter.

Source: Gleamin / Gleamin

Gleamin Vitamin C Clay Mask

Any mask that comes with a brush is serious about your skincare experience. And any mask that’s as thick as Gleamin’s Vitamin C clay mask, is serious about helping to draw out your natural glow. The natural ingredients in the product help to do that, including yellow clay, aloe vera, turmeric, desert lime and more. They also help to fade out dark spots and hyperpigmentation and help your skin feel soft and look bright after using it.

Source: Ouidad / Ouidad

Ouidad Stylutions Line

The new Stylutions line is all about keeping you from having to deal with dry and frizzy curls, which is how even the best twist-out can feel on a chilly day. The “Curl Experts” pulled out all the stops for the three new products in the line, including the Going Up! Volumizing Texture Spray, Clean Sweep Moisturizing Dry Shampoo, and my personal favorite, the Revive & Shine Rejuvenating Dry Oil Mist. The latter is perfect for a ‘fro in need of a little shine and life on days two and three.

Source: Nivea / Nivea

Nivea Oil Infused Lotion

Perfect for the person who doesn’t want the greasiness of oils or butters but definitely doesn’t want dry hands (and feet) throughout the day, the new Nivea oil infused lotion line is for you. It comes in a few delicious scents, including vanilla with almond oil, coconut with monoi, and cherry blossom with jojoba. The lotion is fast absorbing while still providing nourishment to the skin.

Source: Urban Hydration / UH

Urban Hydration Acne & Inflammation Tea Tree & Olive Face Cleansing Oil

Makeup wipes are cool, but there is something luxurious about moisturizing your skin while simultaneously removing a fancy face at the end of the day. This particular cleansing oil from Urban Hydration naturally disinfects and is great for acne thanks to the tea tree, while also soothing and cleansing the skin due to the olive.

Source: Verb / Verb

Verb Curl Collection

This young brand has come out with a whole curl line that does everything from nourish to define curls to minimize frizz and repair damage. The Curl Cream is perhaps our favorite product of the line. While it looks simple enough, with its blend of Shea butter, coconut oil and sunflower seed extract, it reactivates curls and packs a surprisingly serious moisture punch.

Source: Dove / Dove

Dove Sensitive Skin Shower Foam

While we all love our body washes and soaps that leave us smelling like fruits and berries, they can sometimes also leave you feeling super ashy once your skin is no longer wet. Sometimes you need to keep it simple and make the priority nourishing your skin, rather than stripping it of what it needs and coating it with fragrances. Dove’s sulfate-free shower foam for sensitive skin cleanses gently while leaving you with smooth skin and a very light scent on the body.

Source: Glamsquad / Glamsquad

Glamsquad Take a Tint Tinted Lip Balm

There are plenty of awesome balms out there, but if you want a little color with your long-lasting moisture, we’re fans of Glamsquad’s Take a Tint lip balm. It comes in everything from a light rose color to a strong, but still sheer berry. Keep it cute and enriched all at the same time.

Source: Chi / Chi

Chi Aloe Vera with Agave Nectar Leave-In Conditioner

While Chi’s new Aloe Vera with Agave Leave-In does its best magic when it comes to dealing with humidity, its overall goal is to banish dryness and frizz. Put it on your hair, whether dry or damp, to prepare it for easier styling and a taming of your tendrils.

In case you aren’t aware, Disney is launching its very own streaming service on November 12 titled Disney+.

It will house all Disney content new and old in one central location. During the latest press launch, BGN got a chance to see a few episodes of the upcoming new short series, Forky Asks a Question. We also got to talk with the hilarious Tony Hale, who voices Forky.

It’s no surprise that Forky is headlining a new show on Disney+. He was a hit with kids and adults alike in his debut performance in Toy Story 4. The little plastic spork with pipe-cleaner arms and popsicle-stick feet is being made by children all over the world. Even Hale said he has made a Forky with some elementary school kids in Toronto. Forky is a fun contrast to the toys we know and love, like Woody and Buzz, and is the perfect character for this new show.

Forky Asks a Question is all about the craft project made from trash and all the questions he has about the world he now finds himself living in. He asks important questions like, “What is love? What is time?” And of course, the deepest question of all, “What is cheese?” (as Disney would have it). The fun thing about it is that kids will listen and learn new things from Forky because he comes with such a childlike personality. The episodes are literally three minutes long, so they are basically equal to a child’s attention span and just long enough for an adult to be distracted for a moment. The show is very charming.

Tony Hale was more than eager to find himself part of the Disney+ line up with Forky. “Pixar in general is such a creative playground,” he says, “but going into the film I saw the character and I was like, ‘Wow, that’s not what I expected.’ He’s so simply made, and he sees the world so simply.” Forky is the perfect character for television right now. Disney is known for producing fantastical positivity amidst the real negative. Hale said it best when he commented on how unbalanced the world is right now and why Forky is just the right person for the job.

“You know, the world is so chaotic,” he starts, “and there’s so much going on that having a character stand up and go, ‘What’s happening? What’s going on?’ — asking very simple questions, bringing it back to basics — it resonates with a lot of people.” The questions asked are done so beautifully; it’s a very funny script, even for adults. Hale talks about the very first episode title, “What Is Money?” “It’s very silly,” he says, “but then it has this sweet moment, in the end, talking about how it’s not about money, it’s about connection and friendship. Pixar is like art unfolding in front of you, and it’s just so beautifully done.”

Forky’s relationships with the other Toy Story characters is so genuine and pure that it is easy to imagine seeing different characters try to help Forky understand the answers to his questions. “They’re always just trying to be rational with him. Like, ‘No, Forky, it’s this, it’s that.’ He’s like, ‘Why?’” It’s very endearing. Forky is that hint of annoying but still cute, and you can see that come across with the rest of the toys. “The surprise is when you think it’s going one direction, and then, in the end, Forky almost has this philosopher in him,” says Hale. “You think it’s just quirky-funny and he’s like, ‘Nope, it’s not about money, it’s about, friends. Isn’t that right?’ and Ham is like, ‘Yeah, that’s right. That’s really smart, Forky.’ So he always gives this philosophical turn in the end.”

Forky Asks a Question is one of those shows that you just can’t help but love. “Forky is kind of a breath of fresh air where it’s nice to have his continued presence,” says Hale. It’s the simplicity we all crave, especially as an adult. “I think we’re missing that in our world today,” says Hale.

This show will no doubt continue the Toy Story legacy that highlights these wonderful characters. These toys are a group that goes through their own adventures and misfortunes, but they find a way to save each other each time. Forky has become family, and in return, they showcase patience and love, no matter how silly they think his questions are. Hale had a similar reflection. “To me it’s that real power of community. We’re not supposed to do this life alone; we’re supposed to do it with each other. They’ve always had each other’s backs, and we need to do that.” Hale continues by stating that we are always searching for independence and how powerful that can be. But what’s on the other side of that? “What’s wrong,” he starts, “with healthy dependence? What’s wrong with a group that really, in a healthy way, cares for each other and takes care of each other? That’s what we want to see. We want to see that journey.”

Forky will be teaching all of us soon — making us consider what it’s like to care and ask questions and not be judgmental about it. Yes, it’s a cartoon, but like all stories, there is an underlying purpose and necessity that needs to be broadcast to people. The first episode, “What Is Money?” will premiere on Disney+ on November 12.

The post Interview: Tony Hale, ‘Forky Asks a Question’ appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.

Faith Evans, the First Lady of Bad Boy Records, has been through various ups and downs in life which she’s channeled in her soulful music. Getting back in the studio after some time off, she knew she wanted the help of former producer Stevie J with recreating her new sound. What she didn’t expect to find (neither did we) is a love connection.

In a sneak peek for her appearance TV One’s Uncensored Evans tells the story of how she and Stevie J became an item. “When I was working on my King and I album, I wanted to work with some of the people that actually worked with [Notorious B.I.G] and had some of the masters that I couldn’t get a hold of…and he had a lot of them,” she explains.

After some flirt and pleas to take her out on a date, Faith finally obliged. The two briefly dated, but Faith says she ended things because Stevie initially wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. “She kicked me to the curb one time, and that’s what made me lace up my boots and do all the right things,” Stevie admits.

Eventually, they reconnected and got hitched. Evans says her friends and family had their doubts about her marriage to Stevie but came around once they saw how well he was helping raise her 12-year-old son Ryder, who is on the autism spectrum.

My #Ryder #rocksthespectrum : @ceylongrey : @amber4hair unit: @thehairdiagram : @dgbyjd : @atibanewsome

A post shared by Faith Evans (@therealfaithevans) on Feb 4, 2019 at 6:29am PST

“We’ve had to deal with a whole lot [with Ryder],” Faith says in the clip. “We had to sue the school district. We had to homeschool him. We had to tour schools. We decided to start our own school. How [Stevie] came in and has always loved Ryder and has been so supportive in helping me make the right decisions with him, that’s A1.”

Faith Evans and Stevie J wed in 2018 and have been adjusting to their new blended family dynamic together. Evans has four children from previous relationships while Jordan has six.In July 2018, the couple revealed that they were working on having a child of their own.

Faith Evans’s Uncensored episode premieres Sunday, November 10 at 9 p.m. ET/8C on TV One. Catch the sneak peek below:

The post Faith Evans Appreciates Husband Stevie J’s Support Raising Her Autistic Son appeared first on Essence.

Marvel Studios’ lord of all things Sir Kevin Feige has revealed that the Loki Disney+ series set to star Tom Hiddleston will tie into the sequel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This could be interesting, especially because those characters do not exactly get along.

It appears as though all of Marvel’s magickers could be bound up in the next Doctor Strange in some way. As Comicbook.com reports:

Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlet Witch, will follow her appearance in Avengers: Endgame with a return in WandaVision before joining Benedict Cumberbatch in Multiverse of Madness, evidently exploring the multiple dimensions of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Feige revealed the Multiverse of Madness and Loki connection to Bloomberg, saying in a profile, “I’m not sure we’ve actually acknowledged that before. But it does [connect].”

Now, while Comicbook.com’s headline says that Loki will “set up” Doctor Strange, it’s not clear whether “connect” means the characters will ever interact or that any big event in Loki will be essential to Strange. But both Loki and WandaVision seem to be tackling “alternate” elements—the Loki here is the Loki who escaped with the Tesseract in Endgame, which means not only is he a different version of Loki, but he’s potentially in a totally branching timeline (and the show will involve time travel). WandaVision looks set to explore alternate realities, which is where some of the multiverse could come in.

The Avengers world proper already has used the Quantum Realm (where there are time vortices), and Doctor Strange has explored other dimensions. It makes sense that Loki and Wanda, who as powerful magic-users don’t have to abide by quite the same mundane rules as other superheroes, may find themselves intersecting with Strange’s next adventure, or their own actions causing such ripples that Doctor Strange has to clean it up.

I’d love to see Hiddleston join Olsen alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in the Doctor Strange sequel. Loki and Strange have a bit of a history already via Strange’s brief appearance in Thor: Ragnarok. (Meanwhile, the two British actors are good friends, and might like to work together.)

In the beginning of Ragnarok, Strange basically phases Loki out of existence on a city street to get Thor’s attention, and is worried that Loki is a threat to Earth. It’s only later when Thor asks for his brother back that Strange relents and opens a portal, which Loki falls through. Furious, Loki declares, “I have been falling for thirty minutes!” He draws his knives and goes to attack Strange, but the Sorcerer Supreme sends Loki and Thor through a portal before they can clash.

While this occurred between Strange and the Loki who is now (apparently) deceased in the MCU, it’s likely their mutual mistrust and disdain would exist in every universe. And surely Strange is even more worried about this rogue version of Loki being a threat.

Another thing to note is just how essential the Disney+ shows appear to be for future movies, which suggests they really will “connect” quite closely. Feige has plans for our viewing schedules for, well, the rest of our lives: “They’ll be six episodes, eight episodes, 10 episodes with the actors from the films playing their characters. They’ll be changing, evolving, growing in those event series and then those changes will be reflected in their next film appearances,” he said. So we basically have to watch these shows—or read extensive recaps—if we’re to keep up with the MCU. It’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out.

(via Comicbook.com, images: Marvel Studios, Emma McIntyre/Getty Image)

What else, what else?

• Lin-Manuel Miranda on the power of art in the age of Trump. (via The Atlantic)
• QUEER CHRISTMAS MOVIE ALERT! (via Autostraddle)
• Meanwhile, is Last Christmas terrible? (via The Washington Post)
• “The ugly lie about black voters and Pete Buttigieg” (via The Washington Post)
• A glitch appears to have delivered text messages from last Valentine’s Day to many users, causing confusion, not to mention emotional turmoil from people who received texts from exes or people who have passed away. Holy crap. (via The Verge)

What did you see on this fine nearly-the-weekend day?

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—