BLK, the leading dating and social app for Black singles, announces the launch of its new campaign, #BLKMenSmile, aimed at encouraging Black men to embrace their joy and express their full selves in dating profile pictures.

About #BLKMenSmile

#BLKMenSmile addresses a key finding: over 70% of Black men don’t smile in their profile photos, often due to societal standards, perceptions of masculinity, and cultural pressures that can stifle the authentic expression of joy.

“The #BLKMenSmile campaign is about challenging the norms that hold Black men back from expressing their joy. We want to show that a smile isn’t just an act of positivity — it’s a powerful expression of self-love, confidence, and authenticity,” said Jonathan Kirkland, Head of Brand & Marketing at BLK.

Uplifting Black men’s smiles

#BLKMenSmile is centered around an inspiring campaign video and creative images that uplift Black men’s smiles in all their forms.

The campaign’s centerpiece is a brand video featuring the smiles of over 50 Black men of all ages and backgrounds. The video highlights diverse smiles, merging seamlessly from one face to another. It begins with the statistic about how few Black men smile in their dating profile pictures, and then progresses to uplifting quotes about Black joy, smiles, and self-expression.

The video closes with a call to action for Black men to update their BLK profile photos with pictures of them smiling, inviting them to join the movement and show their joy to the world.

Partnership with Express Yourself Black Man

BLK is partnering with Express Yourself Black Man, a digital platform committed to showcasing positive Black male expression, mental health, and cultural empowerment. These partnerships will play a pivotal role in amplifying the reach of #BLKMenSmile by sharing the campaign’s content, encouraging their communities to participate, and sparking broader conversations around Black men’s joy, self-love, and expression.

As part of the initiative, BLK is launching a call to action pledge encouraging all Black men to change their social and dating app profile pictures to images of them smiling, embracing the beauty and power of their authentic joy. BLK encourages its community to use the hashtag #BLKMenSmile across social media and join a growing network of Black men who are breaking down stereotypes, embracing their joy, and showing the world their beautiful smiles.

For more information, please visit: https://www.blk-app.com/

CHEMIN, a black-owned fragrance brand by Atlanta-Based perfumer, November Nichols, has teamed up with department store giant, JC Penney to launch an affordable luxury collection in stores both nationwide and online.

Black-owned fragrance brand comes to JC Penney

The collaboration, which launched today, offers an exquisite array of gender-neutral parfums and body products that celebrate your unique essence.

This includes the affordable luxury collection of signature fragrances, along with body butters, crystal-infused body oils, Vitamin E sugar scrubs, charcoal scrubs, and lotions.

ART Department PR

The only black women brand in the fragrance industry

With CHEMIN (launched in 2017), Nichols is one of the only black women/brands in the fragrance industry. To date, CHEMIN is the only black brand with their own fragrance house (in the entire world).

“I am very proud of our new partnership with JC Penney,” says Nichols.

“As an indie fragrance house founded, owned and operated by a black woman, this is obviously a huge deal — as this is the first time a major retailer has gotten behind a black owned fragrance brand in this way.”

Nichols also trains artisans, as many of them lack the education (not knowing the regulations, guidelines, rules and more in the fragrance industry).

Nichols made strides in that direction by creating activations where people can craft their own fragrance by consulting with master artisans and create scents inspired by themselves.

“Our demand for perfume is strong, but those who want to go from consumer to creator face a challenging path due to a lack of access to education (traditional perfumers typically study in France), capital and mentorship,” says Nichols.

The Fragrance industry

FRAGRANCES are a very lucrative industry that is expected to generate $61.79 billion in 2023 and upwards of $84.02 billion by 2028.

In 2018, 18% of African Americans were buying fragrances, but not entering the industry.

Nichols is looking to make a shift by helping minorities and women start their own fragrance brands.

“Although nearly 74 percent of all perfumers are white, I’m looking to change that.”

Rolling out CHEMIN

The rollout for CHEMIN will include 50 store locations across Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Texas, and Utah.

CHEMIN will be also be available for purchase online.

Connect with CHEMIN on Instagram and visit their website.

Virgil Abloh, the influential fashion designer who is the founder of Off-White and the Men’s Artistic Director of Louis Vuitton, has died, his Instagram account confirmed this afternoon. Abloh died from a rare aggressive cancer.

Virgil Abloh Passes Away

“We are devastated to announce the passing of our beloved Virgil Abloh, a fiercely devoted father, husband, son, brother, and friend,” the post reads. “He is survived by his loving wife Shannon Abloh, his children Lowe Abloh and Grey Abloh, his sister Edwina Abloh, his parents Nee and Eunice Abloh, and numerous dear friends and colleagues.

For over two years, Virgil courageously battled a rare, aggressive form of cancer, cardiac angiosarcoma.  He chose to fight his battle privately since his diagnosis in 2019, undergoing numerous challenging treatments, all while helming several significant institutions that span fashion, art, and culture.

Through it all, his work ethic, infinite curiosity, and optimism never wavered. Virgil was driven by his dedication to his craft and to his mission to open doors for others and create pathways for greater equality in art and design. He often said, “Everything I do is for the 17-year-old version of myself,” believing deeply in the power of art to inspire future generations.

We thank you all for your love and support, and we ask for privacy as we grieve and celebrate Virgil’s life.”

LVMH, Louis Vuitton and Off White are devastated to announce the passing of Virgil Abloh, on Sunday, November 28th, of cancer, which he had been battling privately for several years. pic.twitter.com/CytwZLvSFu

— LVMH (@LVMH) November 28, 2021

Fashion Career

Abloh was born in Rockford, IL to Ghanaian immigrant parents. He graduated from the University Of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in civil engineering and received a master’s degree in architecture from the Illinois Institute Of Technology. While working at a print shop in Chicago, Abloh met Kanye West, and they ended up interning together at Fendi at the same time. Abloh would eventually become West’s creative director.

In 2013, Abloh launched his own fashion label Off-White, designing high-end streetwear clothes. He collaborated with brands like Levi’s, Nike, and IKEA. He was also the artistic director of menswear for Louis Vuitton in 2018, and earlier this year LVMH bought a 60% stake in his Off-White brand.

Outside of fashion, Abloh also designed album cover art and spearheaded visuals for Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Lil Uzi Vert, Westside Gunn, and more. He also served as a DJ and occasionally released music, including a team-up with serpentwithfeet that was released earlier this year.

Virgil Abloh was 41 years old.