• Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Screen Kings
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Beauty

9 Of Mary J. Blige's Best Beauty Moments

The iconic hip-hop soul singer turns 50 today. 
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
By Brooklyn White · Updated May 25, 2021

To call Mary J. Blige anything other than an icon is to undercut her status as one of music’s tastemakers. For nearly 30 years, she’s innovated and elevated. She has given words to the most human feelings and experiences and given the world much-needed doses of the realities of being a Black woman across the 20th and 21st centuries.

Blige has been a superstar for the entirety of my life—by the time I was born she was gearing up to release her sophomore effort, My Life, after her multi-platinum debut had bottled the essence of heartbreak. For her, longevity is a given, for she is quite literally the sound of a generation.

In addition to her role as the rose of hip-hop, Blige is also a fierce trendsetter in the realms of beauty and fashion. For years, fans have urged her to release a line of thigh-high boots (a staple in her wardrobe), though I would personally enjoy boots and shades designed by her. In beauty, she brought styles prevalent in her native New York to the forefront, bringing lined lips, defined curls and blonde, blonde, blonde to global consciousness.

Some of the key players in her looks over the years have been makeup artist Sam Fine (who did Blige’s makeup for her 2001 Essence cover), Nzingha Gumbs and Kim Kimble.

For the past two decades, Blige has cultivated a relationship with makeup line MAC, serving as the face of their Viva Glam campaign in both 2000 and 2002 and then releasing her own line of lipsticks through the brand’s initiative in 2019. As much as she is a part of the fabric of music, she is equally as important culturally, having inspired women of varying ages to love themselves—while also serving major glam.

As Blige celebrates her 50th birthday, Essence gathered some of her most unforgettable beauty moments. Check them out below.

01
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1999)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
02
Grammy Awards (1996)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
03
Fade To Black New York City Premiere (2004)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
04
Vibe Awards (2003)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
05
The 10th Annual Billboard Music Awards (1999)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
06
Madison Square Garden (1995)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
07
MTV Video Music Awards (2002)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
08
Mary J Blige CRWN Talk (2019)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
09
69th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2012)
9 Of Mary J. Blige’s Best Beauty Moments
TOPICS:  mary j blige
COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now