Research shows that beauty is one of the fastest growing industries at the start of this decade. If you’ve ever dreamed of launching a beauty brand or getting into the business and don’t know where to start, COCKTAILS & CONNECTIONS is a must-attend affair. I’m joining forces with a couple of my favorite beauty mavens, Tia Williams of Shake Your Beauty and the Fly Cut and Tricia Lee of Polish Bar to bring you this special experience on Tuesday, June 25th

My beauty industry partner in crime has been named one of The Network Journal’s 2013 “40 Under 40″ award recipients! As a hard working woman I’ve watched break into the business and help build many of our favorite brands, TNJ couldn’t have selected a more deserving honoree. Committed to excellence and always “being teachable”, Ylorie is truly an industry gem who’s finally getting the accolades she deserves. Check out the details below and stay tuned for In Her Shoes coverage of the 16th Annual “40 Under 40″ Achievement Awards Dinner

After 10 months of touring the country to celebrate the launch of its new JojOba collection, EDEN BodyWorks hosted its “Brunch with EDEN” series finale in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 11th. Held at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in downtown L.A., “Brunch with EDEN” welcomed beauty mavens Patrice Grell Yursik (Afrobella), Felicia Leatherwood (Loving Your Hair with Natural Care), Dr. Kari Williams (Mahogany Revolution Hair Salon), and Cassidy Blackwell (Natural Selection Blog) as guest speakers at the invite-only affair. Here are a few pics from this AH-MAZING event that I’m sure you’ll enjoy!

Last Saturday evening the South Loop’s CityPoint Loft was the place to be for Windy City natural beauties. EDEN BodyWorks joined forces with beauty bloggers “The Mane Source” and “Natural Chica” to host one of the city’s hottest natural hair meetups to date. EDEN BodyWorks VP of Marketing, Ylorie Anderson, spearheaded the event with PR support from yours truly (via Crush Media). In one word, the night was magical! Over 150+ women converged onto the CityPoint Loft for a night of natural hair trivia, mixing and mingling, EDEN BodyWorks product testing, delectable eats, and natural hair-inspired cocktails.

Special guests included: celebrity makeup artist, Tia Dantzler; the “godmother” of brown beauty blogging, Afrobella; YouTube darlings, Vaughn and Meechy Monroe (The Monroe Sisters); and natural hair expert and makeup artist, Rachel Odom