Beauty lovers across campus flocked to Florida A&M University’s The Villages dorm for Beautybeat Box NYC’s Historical Black Colleges and University (HBCU) college tour.
The quarterly subscription-based makeup service caters to women of color, direct mailing highly-curated box of beauty products straight to their doorstep according to BeautyBeatBox.com.
BeautyBeat shared hair care tips and provided samples from featured sponsors such as Cantu and ORS Curls Unleashed.
Twist outs, top-knot buns and protective styling were merely a few of the hairstyles discussed.
Beautybeat Box president and co-founder Tasha Turner was motivated to start the company after working over 20 years in the industry as a beauty editor for Essence, InStyle and Vibe magazine.
“I knew that there was a better way that I can contribute to the beauty world, and that is making sure beauty brands understand the power of black women,” Turner said.
According to a 2014 article by Ebony.com, the black haircare market is a $684 million industry. Turner said social media plays a huge role in the industry.
“ … there is nothing more powerful than a college student who is on Instagram all the time, blogging or tweeting all the things that she is doing,” Turner said. “This not only focuses on the black woman’s beauty, but this brings companies into her lifestyle. It’s taking that and bringing it to life on our college tours.”
Beautybeat Box NYC selected a team of students who specialize in hair care to serve as brand ambassadors and models.
Maya Souverin, a fourth-year public relation student from Miami, served as the FAMU brand ambassador for Beautybeat Box and was very impressed with the turnout.
“This was a very tedious event,” Souverin said. “When I (saw) everyone I was relieved and excited, it exceeded my expectations.”
Through tutorials and sharing personal experiences, the team showed the audience how to properly use Cantu products for all hair types.
First-year pre-physical therapy student from Miami, Melanie Hill, enjoyed her first beauty college tour.
“My favorite part was the power protector. The model’s hair came out really pretty. I’ve tried to do that style but it never works. The brand ambassadors taught us how to do it,” Hill said.
A contest held by celebrity beauty blogger XO Necole and Cantu concluded the night.
The Beautybeat Box team expressed how excited they were to fulfill the company goal and to help consumers better understand their products.
“(What) I want the students at FAMU to take away is a better understanding of Cantu products and the joy of opening up and having a conversation about their hair and issues whether it is celebrating our look and our style,” Tuner said. “It’s really about having an engagement amongst ourselves.”