Editor in Chic: How to Style and Be Your Most Empowered Self

by Mikki Taylor

In this vibrant blend of Marie Kondo and Iyanla Vanzant, the “First Lady of Beauty” and trusted lifestyle expert Mikki Taylor shares uplifting advice for women who want to cultivate their own unique brand of beauty both inside and out in this “master class on beauty, wellness, purpose, and what it means to live in your power zone” (Gabrielle Union, actress and New York Times bestselling author).

From dress code to life code, Mikki Taylor shares hundreds of her favorite secrets, including the five products you need to perfect your complexion; the genius ingredient for living in heels; how to be frugal and look fabulous; unexpected drugstore buys that give your everyday look a wake-up call; rules for mastering eye-catching makeup and the perfect red lips; what really has the power to motivate or defeat you; why being “risk adverse” is to be “success adverse” and much more.

Whether you’re standing in front of the mirror debating what to wear to a last-minute event or trying to hold your peace in the middle of a confrontation, Editor in Chic gives you the tools and confidence to be your best self every single day.

“Mikki Taylor is like that trusted friend who has to remind you of the power that was on you all along. From life-affirming lessons, to beauty, style, and insider secrets every woman will treasure— Editor in Chic is gold” (Tina Knowles-Lawson, designer and philanthropist).

304 pages, Paperback

Published March 3, 2020

About the author

Served as ESSENCE Magazine’s groundbreaking Beauty & Cover Director and am now the Editor-at-Large.

Mikki Tay­lor is the quin­tes­sen­tial author­ity on all mat­ters regard­ing beauty and style. From A-list celebri­ties and world-renowned cover mod­els, to women in-the-know, Mikki influ­ences all types of women with her vision of beauty and style. She has devoted a life­time to help­ing women man­age their inner and outer beauty and inspir­ing them to own their lives to the fullest.

For 30 years, Tay­lor served as ESSENCE Magazine’s ground­break­ing Beauty & Cover Direc­tor, and is now Editor-at-Large for the pub­li­ca­tion. In addi­tion, she is the Founder and Pres­i­dent of Mikki Tay­lor Enter­prises, LLC, which serves as a hold­ing com­pany for a num­ber of ver­ti­cal busi­nesses, includ­ing Satin Doll Pro­duc­tions, a full-service image build­ing and con­sult­ing divi­sion, and MT Com­mu­ni­ca­tions, a strate­gic com­mu­ni­ca­tions and brand­ing company.

Tay­lor has offered beauty and style advice through all types of media, includ­ing broad­cast, dig­i­tal and of course, print out­lets, which cul­mi­nated in her wildly suc­cess­ful book, Self-Seduction: Your Ulti­mate Path to Inner and Outer Beauty (Bal­lan­tine Books/One World). This tri­umph left read­ers crav­ing more, there­fore the sequel, Commander-in-Chic: Every Woman’s Guide to Man­ag­ing Her Style Like a First Lady (Atria Books/Simon & Schus­ter), will be hit­ting store shelves on Novem­ber 29, 2011.

Tay­lor has joined forces with AMBI Skin­care, a divi­sion of John­son & John­son Con­sumer Prod­ucts Com­pany, as the brand’s newly-appointed national spokesper­son in an effort ded­i­cated to empower, inspire and cel­e­brate women of color. AMBI Skincare’s 45-year her­itage as the trusted brand for even-toned, beau­ti­ful skin per­fectly com­ple­ments Taylor’s 30-year career as a renowned beauty expert. This alliance will pro­vide women with the tools and resources nec­es­sary to feel beau­ti­ful inside and out.

Tay­lor has been fea­tured on many tele­vi­sion out­lets, includ­ing: The Oprah Win­frey Show, The View, TODAY, Week­end Today, The Early Show, NBC Nightly News, EXTRA, Inside Edi­tion, E! Enter­tain­ment Tele­vi­sion, CNN, TV Guide Chan­nel, VH1, Style Net­work, Life & Style, WE– TV, CBS 2 Morn­ing News, The Insider, the Style Net­work, Pure Oxy­gen, BET, Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance and TV One. View­ers also received a weekly dose of Taylor’s pos­i­tive influ­ence on VH1’s high­est rated debut series Fla­vor of Love Girls: Charm School, which pre­miered to more than five mil­lion view­ers. Each week, Tay­lor served as the voice of rea­son and com­pas­sion as she imparted to the women hon­est, valu­able infor­ma­tion, insight and tips to help the con­tes­tants— and the women who watched the show—live a bet­ter, more pro­duc­tive, pride-filled life. She also served as the host of the TV One series Makeover Manor.

One of Taylor’s most trea­sured expe­ri­ences was a trip to South Africa, at the spe­cial invi­ta­tion of Oprah Win­frey, where she served as an instruc­tor to 149 girls ages 12–14, at the Oprah Win­frey Lead­er­ship Acad­emy for Girls as part of its Arts Work­shop 2007. Tay­lor taught a course called Cel­e­brat­ing Your Unique Beauty & Style, a three-part work­shop that addressed prac­ti­cal and time­less ele­ments of social graces and the essen­tial basics of inner and outer beauty, and Your Best Shot, a ses­sion which taught the skills to insure a phe­nom­e­nal photograph.

In 2007, the Black Retail Action Group (BRAG) hon­ored Tay­lor at its 37th annual schol­ar­ship and awards din­ner, acknowl­edg­ing those who have pen­e­trated and embraced the world of beauty in a sig­nif­i­cant way both in front and behind the scenes. Sh

Reviews

[Dre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that every beauty enthusiast should have on her bookshelf, as while reading, iconic lifestyle expert Mikki Taylor helped me get my life on all fronts-- spiritually, mentally, and physically. Not only does she share beauty tips and and style advice, she shares affirming words that empower and nurture the spirit. I was also pleasantly surprised to read inspiring anecdotes from other influential women sprinkled in the book as well. I enjoyed reading this beautiful book and can even see myself referring back to the highlights I've made again and again.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC of Editor in Chic in exchange for an honest review.

[KBeautiful1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing audiobook and I also have the hardcover as well which she signed for me.

Mikki Taylor does an incredible breakdown of the beauty, fashion, health, the black experience as the Editor-at-Large of Essence Magazine.

When you listen to Mikki narrating her book (which by the way I love when the author does it), she makes you feel as if you are right there in her living room with your fellow sisters, sipping wine while she gives out her Mikkisms.

It is definitely a book or audio that is a must-have for your collection, it's personal and practical, Mikki doesn't speak to you as if you are out of reach, please know it is eye to eye conversations that she is going to have with you.

Well Until My Next Review...Ciao

[Marcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mikki Taylor is a woman who has it all, and she worked hard to get there. As Essence's beauty editor she knows what it takes to be beautiful, both inside and out. Mikki Taylor narrates this book, which is perfect because it's like having a wise girlfriend sitting next to you, spilling her beauty secrets. I love both Mikki's writing style and voice, but I don't recommend this as an audiobook.

The beginning of the book deals with your inner beauty. Taking care of yourself mentally and physically. Eating right, exercising, socializing, taking some introvert time to center yourself. Mikki is also a woman of faith and doesn't shy away from telling you how faith has impacted her life. She encourages others not to neglect that side of themselves. Looking good and feeling good go hand in hand. As women, sometimes we feel selfish when we put ourselves first, but Mikki makes some great points on why we should not do that.

The second half of the book deals with everything from your skin and makeup to your nails and feet. She makes some great product recommendations too. My only complaint is that some of her recommendations are more on the expensive side. However, in many categories she also listed products that you could pick up at your local drugstore. I even bought the calf stretcher that she recommended, and let me tell you, it's a game changer.

Mikki draws inspiration from the women around her. You'll find several quotes and stories from these powerful women. This book is intended more for women of color, but has something in it for women of all colors, shapes, and sizes. I'm grateful for the opportunity to read and review this book. It was a great reminder that I don't need to put myself on the back burner.
Read more at https://www.toreadornottoread.net/201...

[MaggieJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book with lots of information on how to show up in the best version of you. It covers everything beauty and truly had me change many of my habits and pick up new ones. I had been obsessed with my hyperpigmentation and this book had the recipe for it to clear up. I truly adore Mikki Taylor.

[Joelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal! Mikki Taylor is not only an inspiration, but she's one of the most encouraging people. Her book made me find the power within myself. Five stars and I highly recommend this book, especially for young women of color.

[Asiuol K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don't think this book is for me.

[Hannah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stupid.

[Kristi Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read all my reviews at: https://brainfartsandbooks.wordpress.com

I have to admit that I almost stopped reading this book because as a self-help book, it was just so damn wordy in the beginning. I wanted to get to the good stuff (like product recommendations and style advice) right away and I found that the author put in a bunch of stories about other people before getting to what the reader (me) really wanted. I skimmed most of the book until I found the recommendations which I found to be really helpful. I liked the way the book was categorized and organized.

Thank you to Netgalley, Mikki Taylor, and Atria Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.