Nail artist Dawn Sterling brought together some of beauty’s biggest names for a BET Awards weekend celebration of Black excellence.
Beauty Unlocked arrived during BET Awards weekend with a clear mission, and it delivered on it inside the Sun Rose Hotel in West Hollywood. The inaugural event brought together some of the most influential names in Black beauty for a day built around community, craft and long overdue recognition.
The gathering was the vision of nail artist Dawn Sterling, who has spent years watching the high fashion world underrepresent Black talent despite depending on it for some of its most iconic looks. With Beauty Unlocked, she turned that frustration into a full scale celebration.
A day built for connection
Hosted by Darian Symone, the event gave guests a chance to experience beauty services from professionals whose work usually shows up on red carpets and magazine covers. Hair touch ups, fresh makeup and manicures filled the space, turning the hotel into something between a salon and a homecoming. The atmosphere leaned less on spectacle and more on genuine access, letting attendees sit in the same chairs occupied by the artists behind some of pop culture’s biggest transformations.
Industry leaders speak on access
The centerpiece of the afternoon was a panel discussion in front of roughly 150 guests, moderated by Candis Grace. Hairstylists Jawara Wauchope and Tym Wallace joined makeup artist Sir John for a conversation that moved between personal history and industry critique. Wallace spoke to the responsibility of sharing knowledge rather than hoarding it, framing the panel as part of a larger effort to widen the path for those still trying to break in. Sir John, whose client list includes Beyoncé, Zendaya and Serena Williams, touching on economic opportunity and the value of building industry power collectively.
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Beauty as economic engine
That framing lined up with the goals of the event’s sponsor, Gran Coramino, the tequila brand founded by Kevin Hart. Kristin Turner, the brand’s SVP of brand operations, pointed to Sterling’s ability to build something rooted in craftsmanship and consistency, calling her work a reflection of the values Gran Coramino wants to support. The partnership underscored a broader theme running through Beauty Unlocked, the idea that investing in Black owned beauty spaces is both a cultural statement and a business one.
Mentorship at the center of Beauty Unlocked
For Wauchope, whose credits include styling Beyoncé and Solange, the event carried personal weight. He described the chance to create space for emerging artists as an honor, and pointed to Sterling’s initiative as something that could shape where the next generation of beauty professionals gets its start. That mentorship thread ran through nearly every part of the day, from the panel to the informal conversations happening in between services.
A blueprint for what comes next
Beauty Unlocked closed out BET Awards weekend as more than a one off gathering. It functioned as proof of concept for what happens when established names in the industry open the door rather than guard it. Sterling’s event leaned into collaboration over competition, treating representation as something built through action rather than conversation alone. As the beauty industry keeps grappling with questions of access and equity, Beauty Unlocked offered a working model for what inclusion can actually look like when the people with influence decide to use it.
