ESSENCE Names Veteran Beauty Journalist Corynne L. Corbett as Its New Beauty Director

NEW YORK, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- ESSENCE names Corynne L. Corbett as its new beauty director, it was announced today by editor-in-chief Angela Burt-Murray. In this new role, Corbett will be responsible for leading the beauty team and executing the overall beauty vision for the magazine — in addition to writing, assigning and editing articles.

Corbett is a veteran journalist who uses her 20 years of experience in fashion, beauty and lifestyle to create engaging and compelling content across a variety of media platforms. Before joining ESSENCE, she served as executive editor of Real Simple magazine, where she oversaw the coverage of fashion, beauty and food for the magazine. Prior to this, she also served as its beauty/wellness director. Previously, she spent 8 years in the beauty department for Elle. Early in her career she was also a regular contributor to ESSENCE for its beauty stories.

"Beauty is indigenous to the ESSENCE brand, and an absolute obsession to the ESSENCE audience," said Corbett. "From hair to make-up to skincare, I am looking forward to showing her all the ways in which we are uniquely beautiful."

"ESSENCE is ecstatic to have Corynne lead our beauty team," said Burt-Murray. "We know that our readers will love her fresh insights as she strives to give our audience what they crave each month when it comes to meeting their beauty needs and desires."

Corbett is also the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Chic Jones Media LLC, a company that builds communication and community between women. In May 2008 the company launched That Black Girl Site, which features Corbett's own blog, That Black Girl Blogging. Corbett is a graduate of Pratt Institute. She is a member of the American Society of Magazine Editors and the National Association of Black Journalists.

ABOUT ESSENCE COMMUNICATIONS INC.:

Essence Communications Inc. (ECI) is the number one media and communications company dedicated to African-American women.  With a multi-platform presence in publishing, live events, and online, the Essence brand is "Where Black Women Come First".  The company's flagship publication, ESSENCE magazine, is the preeminent lifestyle magazine for African-American women; generating brand extensions such as the Essence Music Festival, ESSENCE Black Women in Hollywood, Window on Our Women (WOW I & II) and Smart Beauty I, II & III consumer insights, the Essence Book Club, Essence.com, and ventures in digital media (mobile, television and VOD). For 40 years, ESSENCE magazine, which has a brand reach of over 8 million, has been the leading source of cutting-edge information relating to every area of African-American women's lives.  Additional information about ECI and ESSENCE is available at www.essence.com.

SOURCE ESSENCE Magazine