17 Real Women Who Inspired Us This Year
I think we all can agree that for the most part 2016 has been an overall shitty year. But through all the drama and ups and downs, we’ve managed to find amazing women who make the world go round.
Most of them are still hustling their way to the top, and that’s what we love. They might not be household names yet, but we predict many of them will be. So here’s our list of 17 super motivating and dope ass women we’ve written about who have inspired us in 2016. Check it out below.
AMREZY
We introduced you all to Amrezy back in October as the former MUA with over 5 million supporters. Amrezy has worked with some of the biggest brands, like Anastasia Beverly Hills ,and currently has two signature lipsticks out in a collaboration with Lip Land Cosmetics. Rezy went from working shitty jobs like most of us to being her own boss with supporters all over the world in only a few years. For those of you wondering why she is one of our inspirational babes of 2016, check out our interview with her to learn more and probably become a “Rezy Rider”.
CARRIE GOLDBERG
An attorney who’s fighting revenge porn, Carrie has made it her life’s mission to make your jerk of an ex or weirdo stranger pay for leaking your private sexual photos. Carrie is the go-to lawyer for defending the many women who have been made victims of angry ex-lovers, stalkers, or other men who spend their time crafting fake Craigslist ads or posting to sites like “Is Anyone Up” from their mom’s basement. Goldberg herself was threatened by an ex who claimed he was going to send explicit photos to her family and co-workers, but instead of letting it ruin her life, she decided to dedicate her life to it. Read our article from November to learn more about this kick ass attorney.
MARISA BRYANT
Marisa is a model and fellow Galore writer who is working her way up in the model world the old-fashioned way. Marisa embodies the modern-day model who is more than a pretty face. Being a model in 2016 is more of a brand and business than it has ever been and she’s doing everything in her power to embody that. We love women who don’t depend on anyone to make their dreams into reality and look kick-ass doing it. Wanna learn more about Marisa? Check out our interview with her from this year.
AALIYAH JAY
Who would have ever thought that YouTube would make a New York native a huge name in the beauty industry? Aaliyah Jay has made herself a walking brand by representing the biggest brands in not only beauty but fashion as well. At only 23-years-old she has managed to have over 900,000 supporters and is an entrepreneur in her own right. If you are one of those girls who sits on Youtube for hours trying to figure out how these bloggers do it, you’ll definitely wanna check out our interview with Aaliyah.
MAISON THE FAUX SPRING SUMMER 2017
JEZRA M.
Jezra M. is a model and body positivity activist who’s pioneering the #purebodylove hashtag and going to school to be a counselor for women with body image issues. We talked to her about how she got into the plus size blogging community and more a while back in our exclusive interview . What makes Jezra so bomb is the fact that she’s just like us. She works and is in school and is still making shit happen. She decided to get into plus size modeling to not only boost her confidence, but also those of full figured women all over the world through her photos.
CORINNE FISHER & KRYSTYNA HUTCHINSON
The comedians behind Guys We Fucked: the Anti-Slut-Shaming Podcast blew up this year. If you haven’t listened to their podcast, you need to get on it. This year, they not only quit their day jobs and embarked on an international tour, but went out on a limb to support Hillary Clinton and get political af, without worrying about alienating any members of their rapidly growing fan base. We talked to them over the summer and are obsessively listening to their podcast every week. These girls are going places, so get to know them now.
LINDSEY PELAS
Lindsey Pelas is another rapidly rising star who’s not afraid to get political. Lindsey got her start when she was dating notorious “King of Instagram” Dan Bilzerian, and it’s clear she was meant for fame. She talked to us about feminism, online haters, and how she makes bank off of what should oppress her.
ANGEL BRINKS
Cali native Angel Brinks has been the head designer and CEO of Angel Brinks Fashion for almost six years now. You may also know her as a cast member on VH1’s Basketball Wives LA. Angel has worked hard to create a fashion brand that is worn by many celebrities while maintaining her self-respect on reality tv, which is damn near impossible. When you think of girl bosses you should think of independent, hard working women who work their asses off to make a name for themselves and that is exactly what Angel has done, check out our interview to learn more about her.
MONICA STYLE MUSE
Monica brings visibility to Afro-Latinas and embodies self love in the most contagious way. Monica is a L’Oreal Brand Ambassador and with 95,000 YouTube followers, she also creates some bomb fashion, hair, and makeup videos. She isn’t your typical beauty vlogger though. She has videos that cover her experience as an Afro-Latina, how to style a weave, and makeup looks for dark-skinned women. She is a proud bilingual and frequently begins her videos with the invitation to “vamos a comenzar” which means, “Lets get started.” Her channel is a celebration of beauty and Afro-Latina culture.
Despite this, she’s been criticized by people who think she doesn’t count as Latina. There are so many women who are both racially Black and ethnically Latina, and Monica is passionate about using her platform to bring them visibility. She wants to end the stereotype that says that only light-skinned women can be Dominican. Learn all about Monica in our new interview.
FAARROW SISTERS
Sisters Iman and Siham Hashi, known to the world as Faarrow, are a girl group being compared to super girl group, the Spice Girls. Iman and Siham are inspiring youth around the world to be more socially aware by getting involved in helping their communities and utilizing music as a tool for bridging the cultural gaps.
The duo was born two years apart in Somalia, and by 1991, the civil war there resulted in Iman and Siham’s move to Toronto, Canada, and the beginning of their lives as refugees. Since then, the girls have been heavily involved in several humanitarian organizations and projects — the sisters are spokeswomen for the UN Refugee Agency. Get to know Faarrow more in our Q+A.
MING LEE
Have you ever heard of the beauty and hair company Snob Life or its owner, Ming Lee? If not, you will soon enough because Ming Lee is making herself a household name. The 29-year-old CEO and former hairstylist from Detroit, Michigan, started off her multi-million dollar business with $500 and a goal: to hustle her way to success. Now she is a salon owner, has a cosmetics line and is a multi-millionaire with no plans with slowing down anytime soon. In an exclusive interview, Ming explains how she became aa self-made millionaire, independently, with no handouts.
MEME JONES
MeMe Jones is a 24-year old stylist and designer from Detroit who quit her 9-5 retail job to become her own boss, and she hasn’t looked back since. MeMe was working her ass off at a trash 9-5 when she realized that this wasn’t the life she wanted, so she quit her job and now has a successful clothing line and professional styling company. Quitting your job is super ballsy and isn’t built for the average person to do, but MeMe’s story proves that when you have a vision and believe in yourself you have to invest in your goals. Read our Q&A to check her out.
TOI LEONNAH
Have you ever thought about starting your own business but thought, I can’t do this alone, I don’t have the money for it, and I’ll probably fail? Then you haven’t heard of Toi Leonnah, the 25-year-old founder and CEO of luxury hair and lifestyle brand I Wear Glam. Toi started her company when she was a full-time nurse. She went from being a local Detroit-based company to a nationally recognized brand that has been seen on Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Serena Williams and many more. Toi started her company on her own and opened her own storefront eight months later. She is now a millionaire and did it all on her own. If you have ever thought of doing something on your own but have a fear of doing it independently, check out our interview .
LUNA MIU
Luna Miu amassed her 18,600 Instagram followers from more than just sexy selfies. Her page boasts sexy artwork, funny memes, and lots of lingerie inspiration. When she’s not killing her social media presence, she’s defying stripper stereotypes in L.A. Luna is vegan and sober, which is almost too cliche of an LA-inhabitant, but also dope as hell.
TAYLOR LASHAE
Taylor Lashae is not your typical model/actress. Her Instagram feed, where she’s garnered a following of 78,000, showcases a personal style even she can’t explain, and she sells items right out of her closet in her Depop store. on top of her 70’s vibes she also is an up and coming actress and loves to talk fashion, her goals and much more. Check out one of our fave Q+A’s from this year.
GABRIELLA LASCANO
Gabriella Lascano is a plus size model, former makeup artist, and beauty blogger from the Bronx, New York. Gabriella rose to fame from her dope fashion sense and makeup skills, and now she’s working with awesome brands like Boohoo. She joined the modeling industry because she wanted to be the voice and representation for women who looked like her. Gabriella always felt she was too short, too big, too curvy, and not tall enough; but knew there are other women with hourglass shapes who are short who need representation. If you’re aspiring to break into the plus size modeling industry or are interested in learning all about Gabriella, check out our interview now.
