Last Thursday, we received word that the beloved celebrity makeup artist, Roxanna Floyd, had unexpectedly passed away. The details of her death are still unconfirmed, but we do know the fashion, beauty, and entertainment industries are devastated by her loss. In her twenty-year reign as the grand dame of Black beauty, Floyd worked with luminaries like Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Angela Bassett and Halle Berry, and was the creative consultant for Cover Girl Queen. Since the ’80s, Floyd put her stamp on every medium under the sun, from music videos and album covers to movies and magazine covers (sixty of which were with Essence). Floyd’s genius with brown skin and unparalelled artistry inspired some of the industry’s biggest names, from fellow celeb makeup artist Sam Fine to top photographer Matthew Jordan Smith (check out his touching tribute to Floyd on his blog). Roxanna Floyd was a true originial, and we will miss her dearly. Read More: * Sam Fine Teaches the ‘Basics of Beauty’ * Queen Latifah Expands her CoverGirl role * Behind the Scenes of our December Photo Shoot