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Courtesy of Flawless by Gabrielle Union By India Espy-Jones ·Updated December 10, 2024

Holiday cheer often sparks the urge to get dolled up for our year-end celebrations. Entertainment and beauty icon Gabrielle Union and celebrity hair stylist Larry Sims want to make this desire is as accessible to achieve as possible.

The celebrity-stylist duo, and c o-founders of Flawless by Gabrielle Union hair care line, came together with JCPenney for a nationwide partnership that’s sure to help us usher in the holidays in >JCPenney salons throughout the Los Angeles and San Diego, California areas will offer the “SimStyled” experience, giving patrons the opportunity to experience accessible, red-carpet worthy hair for the holidays. This partnership provides clients the choice of eight curated >Sims using the Flawless line.

Commemorating the launch at the Glendale Galleria location, JCPenney’s team, along with Sims and Union, hosted an opening reception showcasing thesrc=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DP021177-1-scaled.jpg” alt=”Flawless By Gabrielle Union Is Offering Us Red Carpet Treatment” width=”400″ height=”266″ />Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JC Penny on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)

Transforming the JCPenney salon into a communal atmosphere was easy enough. Located at the rear of the first floor, the salon boasted a gorgeous space decorated in white, black, and gold hues. A spacious layout with a plethora of well-lit styling and washing stations made for a welcoming environment for event attendees to socialize and observe thesrc=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DP021584-scaled.jpg” alt=”Flawless By Gabrielle Union Is Offering Us Red Carpet Treatment” width=”400″ height=”266″ />Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JCPenney on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)

Notable attendees included Ashley Everett, Robin Thede, Brandee Evans, celebrity hair stylists and barbers Sasha MaRi and Donato Smith, and Miss Gloria, the mother of one of Sims’ models and lifelong friends. Ranging from all walks of life, each individual present shared a love for quality hair care and intentional community.

Sharing a few words to kick off the event, Union and Sims underscored their gratitude for all in attendance as well as for each other, demonstrating what a decades-long friendship and working relationship looks like. Union stated three values that guided her decisions as well as the shaping of this salon experience: family, money, and time. “I do what makes me happy, what allows me to maintain and expand my peace, joy, and what keeps me looking good.”

As for Sims? “When it comes to creating, it comes from the core of my soul. I don’t do it for the money,” he tells ESSENCE. “I do it for the way that it makes me feel and for the way that I know that it makes others feel,” he—who grew up in Chicago, being surrounded by so many expressions and stewards of Black beauty—adds.

Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JC Penny on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)

As for what makes Flawless by Gabrielle Union work so well and stand out amongst a crowd of others? Partnership. The full line of products, sold at JCPenney, is a joint creation by both Sims and Union. The actress expresses how integral it was to ensure she and Sims were on equal footing in all areas of the business, respecting Sims’ expertise in the area rather than allowing her name alone to take the lead. In return, Sims discusses how committed Union is to every step of the process from formulation to user experience. 

“We are sold in places that are actually in the community, and in locations that are not going to demonize or criminalize our consumer,” Union begins. “They actually work, and they’re not going to break the bank. We’re also humble. We listen, we read the comments. We can’t get defensive, we just get better.” 

And no matter what the two do, they deeply understand the impact beauty can have on confidence and presence, and point to the sacred relationship between beauty professionals and their clients. For this reason, Sims affirms that clients will walk away from the SimStyled experience feeling beautiful and “respected for your time and your hair, and beautiful in thedecoding=”async” src=”https://www.essence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DP021504-scaled.jpg” alt=”Flawless By Gabrielle Union Is Offering Us Red Carpet Treatment” width=”400″ height=”266″ />Larry Sims and Gabrielle Union celebrate the launch of SimStyled at the Glendale Galleria JC Penny on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Dana Pleasant/AP Content Services for JCPenney)TOPICS:  Flawless by Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Union Larry Sims

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