What’s up, gorgeous?! If we haven’t yet met, I’m Veronica Webb, a woman with 30 years of experience in the fashion industry under my proverbial Gucci belt. I’m proud to be known as one of the original supermodels to rule the runway and slay magazine covers, and as the first black model in history to receive a major cosmetics contract in the 1990s. These days, I’m equally proud of my evolution into a beauty writer and fashion blogger.
At The Glow Up, we eat, breathe and sleep beauty and fashion 24-7. And yet we consider ourselves more than just “beauty junkies,” because to us, beauty isn’t an addiction—it’s an adventure. We’re beauty explorers, taking you not only inside the fashion and beauty industries (and more) but within diverse bodies, minds, lifestyles and discoveries in the quest to build inner strength as a foundation for external beauty. (Though we’ll have plenty of external beauty here, too.)
For us, beauty is a ritual of empowerment for women of all ages. Similarly, what we choose to put on our bodies is also a form of strength, because the way we do our hair and makeup and wear our clothes is the shining armor we don every day to go out and conquer the world.
The truth is, the days of being shamelessly vain are over (unless you have more than 20 million followers on Instagram). Nowadays, true beauty has depth—and a compassionately global, humanitarian perspective. No pressure; but we wouldn’t ask you to be here if we didn’t consider you capable. The truth is, we need you—and your truth.
Just to give you some perspective: On the path to finding and defining my own beauty and style, I couldn’t wait to run off to New York and Paris and join the fashion circus so I could break my oppressive childhood taboos of no red lipstick or blue eye shadow (on black girls, at least), suppressing my natural hair texture, the stifling refrain of “That doesn’t match” and being admonished to save my “good clothes” for special occasions. And break free, I did.
Like Godzilla in stilettos, I romped through the world of high fashion, devouring every bit of information about beauty, fashion and lifestyle I could along the way. Eventually it became part of me and my way of walking through the world—in sneakers and stilettos alike. What I learned was that anyone can be beautiful, at any time of life—and sometimes it’s as simple as finding the right dress or hairstyle that sets your confidence free.
Most important, I know that beauty is more than vanity. I’ve learned a lot from my decades in the beauty rat race because working as a model can be a tooth-and-nail battle, where only the strongest survive (or get plastic surgery and start over—just kidding). And ultimately, I’ve won the battle with myself over who’s the fairest of them all. The prize? Owning the belief that beauty is a form of strength that comes from within ... but you still need to know where to go.
So get out your “good clothes,” and join us here at The Glow Up, because we believe that LIFE is a special occasion. I’m confident that the voices and stories of the women we feature here will resonate with you, because our mission is not to simply talk about beauty but also to help you live beautifully. We know that what’s in your mind is as important as what’s on your body, so we want to help you resist anything that doesn’t make you stronger, and put into action everything that contributes to your mental, physical and spiritual beauty—because God don’t like ugly, and neither does The Glow Up. So if you’re ready to explore and become the best of the best—get ready to get your “glow up”!
Veronica Webb,
Editor, The Glow Up
Wifey, mommy, supermodel (currently strung out on Starbucks)