Mom, if you’re reading this please turn back now.
Everyone else, let’s chat. Valentine’s Day can obviously be an emotional day for many. For people in relationships it’s supposed to be a celebration of love that can often turn into weeks of stress trying to make sure the day is special. For singles, it can be a day full of triggers reminding you of all the candy grams and chocolates you didn’t receive in Valentine’s Days past.
Regardless, Valentine’s Day should be a genuine celebration of love whether it’s self-love or love for someone else. I’m sharing a few factors to consider leading up to February 14th that will make your day effortless and stress-free. Oh, and since it’s also Black History Month, all of these suggestions aim to benefit a Black entrepreneur.
The outfit. A lot of us assume that since it’s Valentine’s Day we have to be ultra sexy and pull out the bodycons, however, this day is as much about loving you as it is about others. So don’t force it. I came across the sweatshirt above the same way I discover most great things, on Instagram. The Bad Girl, Good Human brand is black-owned with a mission statement that most of us can get on board with: “Encourage women to live outside the box, speak their truth, and embrace their duality.” This particular sweatshirt also comes in a cropped version that you can easily sexify for your Valentine or wear this classic style and pull from the outfit inspo provided.
The shoes. Brother Vielles is shaking up the footwear industry and I am here for it. The luxury shoe brand offers a huge selection of shoes ranging from feminine sandals to eclectic booties on their website. Whether you’re a heels or flats girl, this black-owned brand will have what you’re looking for.
The lingerie. What’s Valentine’s Day without Rihanna, am I right? If you’re not including “Skin” on your playlist for the night or wearing Killawatt at dinner, then you can at least rock some Savage x Fenty lingerie whether it’s for your significant other or just for yourself.
The food. Personally, I love a well-thought out home cooked meal. So, this year take a page out of your favorite Black chef’s cookbook and get to chefin’. I highly recommend Chef Resha who is a self-taught chef with a recipe book that spans from her famous mac and cheese to Chicago style deep-dish pizza.
If you’re looking to take your boo out, Travel Noire has a great guide featuring the best black-owned restaurants in each state. For those of you in the L.A. area, Post & Beam is a chic, intimate, black-owned restaurant next to the Baldwin Hills- Crenshaw mall that will make you feel like you’re actually getting the hang of adulting.
The playlist. If you’re looking for a variety refer to my Cuffin’ Vibes playlist. It’s full of my favorite emerging R&B artists including Ella Mai, Nao, Masego and dvsn. Otherwise, just turn on any song by Summer Walker and get into it.
The activity. Obviously, I won’t be suggesting how y’all get this part of Valentine’s Day done, BUT there are plenty of resources provided by Black people that can help enhance this part of the evening. Afrosexology is a site designed to promote sex-positivity in the Black community. The founders of the website, Dalychia and Rafaella provide workshops, book suggestions, sex-positive artwork and even worksheets to help encourage Black couples and singles to love themselves unapologetically.
Noelle Daydream 