I recently sat down for a lively conversation with my sister and friend HipHop Womanist EbonyJanice for her A Year in Black Joy conversation series. We talked about joy and legacy ... about the mission that our grandparents sent us out on in life and the personal legacy work we are doing daily.

ICYMI: https://bit.ly/3atQP6r

This life-giving conversation series is to celebrate the work of @emmaslegacyfoundation. 

Consider visiting bit.ly/EmmasLegacyFoundation to support the work of #EmmasLegacy which provides scholarships to #DreamYourelfFree, supports the stipends for the facilitators first DYF and the 12 month spiritual mentoring programs and makes #BlackGirlMixtape possible.

EbonyJanice Moore is a womanist scholar, author, and activist doing community-organizing work, most specifically around black women’s body ownership as a justice issue, black women’s access to ease, joy, and play, and Hip Hop as a tool for sociopolitical and spiritual/religious movement making. She has created curriculum for leadership development for high school-aged girls in Kenya and South Africa, developed programming for teenagers in housing projects in Decatur, Georgia giving them exposure to culture, STEM programs, and the arts, and she supports the tuition of several girl students at PACE High School in Nyahururu, Kenya – towards her passion to ensure gender parity in spaces considered “the least of these.”

I've had plans for a while now for how I would spend my vacation this week and they very much involved plenty of luxuriating. This is always the time when I have to push myself a little bit more in my workouts and am increasingly diligent about my hair and skin as the season changes. But, this year — like so many of you — I'm doing a lot more to fight off the monotony of being at home indefinitely and the urge to bum around. And part of that extra care involves my bath time routine. 

I recently started added N|S Beauty's Malachite Body Scrub to my evening shower regimen and I am seriously obsessed. 

Before I started using it, I would have to slather on a moisturizer before hopping into bed to combat waking up to extra dry skin. When I used this buttery soft exfoliator, my skin not only feels noticeably softer — it also has a glow and hydration that I haven't noticed from any other body scrub I've used in the past. N|S Beauty says this isn't your typical body scrub and that is not a boast, it's a promise. 

This hand-blended whipped body polisher is all natural, free from toxins and made with organic oils, and Hawaiian spirulina (which helps reduce discolorations and contains powerful antioxidants to keep your skin healthy and prevent premature aging signs. Yes to this.), yerba mate, sandalwood and Malachite crystal powder. In any other time, I would most certainly have booked a spa appointment for this week; this  — with its soothing scent of sandalwood — is a more than adequate substitute.

If you're looking for a bit of joy in a container (treat yourself!!) or a sumptuous gift, this is it.

N|S Beauty Malachite Body Scrub | $47