The culture could not be canceled on Sunday night, as the 20th—and entirely virtual—BET Awards set a new standard for quarantine entertainment. As was to be expected from the pioneering Black entertainment network, the evening was Black Lives Matter-themed—and the stars did not disappoint.
Perhaps the best example of social justice-meets-social distancing came from 2020's Best Female Hip Hop Artist Megan Thee Stallion, who came through with the Mad Max vibes for her absolutely “Savage” performance—which was safely masked, save the Hot Girl herself. Rocking feathered and leather-look costume pieces from Ashton Michael, Zana Bayne, Laurel DeWitt, Dolls Kill, and collaborator Fashion Nova, Meg proved to be as much a rock star as a rap goddess as she hands-down stole last night’s show. But it was her hair look that really took us by surprise, as stylist Kellon Deryck revealed that he used one of our new favorite (and highly affordable) haircare lines to create Meg’s blown-out look.
“For Megan’s look, the edgy-ness of the performance called for a more textured, sleek look, creating a sexy, chic hairstyle,” said Deryck, who used the Hydrating Cleanse Shampoo, Super Slip Detangling Conditioner and Moisture Spa Recovery Mask from Dove’s Amplified Textures line (a bargain at $6.99 per product) to both create what he called “a tousled, textured bedhead vibe” on the wig we watched flow in the wind and to protect Meg’s natural hair underneath. Since we fell love with this collection when it dropped this spring (which smells as good as it performs—and wow, does it perform), we were thrilled to hear it was getting the celebrity treatment—from no less than the Stallion herself!
But on a night that honored Black excellence, BET reports that Meg also came through in an affordable Black designer to accept her big win of the night as Best Female Hip Hop Artist. The rapper gave us “classy, bougie, ratchet” vibes in a cutout black velvet dress ($95) from Black-owned brand Grayscale as she accepted her well-deserved honor.
Grayscale also dressed another talent on BET’s Sunday night telecast; Amanda Seales wore the label’s red, vegan leather, sleeveless mini dress ($85) to kick off the evening, and a dozen other Black designers—throughout her hosting duties, borrowing a page from Tracee Ellis Ross’ hosting playbook for the 2018 American Music Awards as she dressed in all Black everything for the night.
Seales even extended the Blackness to her beauty regimen for the night. According to intel provided to The Glow Up, stylist Nicole Newland used the recently relaunched legacy haircare brand Afro Sheen’s Glow Up Shine Spray, Lush Fro Butter and Curl Defining Cream (all $7.49) to polish and perfect Seales’ waist-long twists with ingredients like keratin, coconut oil and castor oil. Additionally, makeup artist Renée Sanganoo used the No Ash at All, After Bath and Honey Water ($9.99-$11.99) from Black all-natural favorite Oyin Handmade’s body care line for a lasting glow, topping off the look with lip color, bronzer and highlighter from Black-owned brand The Lip Bar.
The effect? Well, Black and beautiful, of course, and entirely befitting a night celebrating the best of Black culture. The event may have been virtual, but the beauty was in-your-face Black excellence.