Houseofyre 21 02 19 Lala Ivey Natural Beauty 4... -

She began by removing the invisible armor we all wear. A simple cotton robe fell away, not as a spectacle, but as an offering. What followed was not a performance but an unfolding . She sat by the window, knees drawn to her chest, watching rain trace paths down the glass. Her hair—untamed, curly, dark as fertile soil—framed a face that held both wisdom and wonder.

The photographer captured her tracing a scar on her knee—a childhood memory of climbing a sycamore tree. He caught the way she bit her lower lip while reading a worn paperback (Toni Morrison, Beloved ). He immortalized the moment she closed her eyes and pressed her palms to the floor, grounding herself like a tree sending roots through concrete. HouseoFyre 21 02 19 Lala Ivey Natural Beauty 4...

And Lala did.

"I used to think beauty was something you put on. A mask. A defense. But the older I get—and I'm not old, don't twist that—the more I realize beauty is something you take off. Like layers of fear. Every time I let someone see a real piece of me, I feel lighter." She began by removing the invisible armor we all wear

February 19, 2021 — Entry Four