Cardi B Just Shouted Out a Small Skincare Brand on Her Instagram Story

Cardi: Rapper and publicist extraordinaire.

Cardi B attends the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards at Prudential Center on September 12, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey.
(Image credit: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

Ever since Cardi B’s first single, “Bodak Yellow,” took off in 2017, she’s taken the music world by storm with hit after hit. Her hard work has earned her nine Grammy nominations (with one win), worldwide fame, and millions of dollars at her disposal. And although the star has been known to splurge on luxe manicures and designer fashion, she’s also well known for her commitment to charitable causes. Last year, for instance, she donated $100,000 to her Bronx alma mater. Earlier, she donated over a million dollars to COVID-relief, including 20,000 meals for hospital workers, and she matched charitable donations that fans made to a variety of causes. So, it comes as no surprise that the star attended a Toys for Tots charity event this week in Newburgh, New York, where she met a young beauty entrepreneur that impressed her so much, she couldn’t help but shout her out. 

At the event, Cardi was presented with a gift from the young founder of Ariie Skincare, which promises to be vegan, cruelty-free, and clean. Cardi posted a video of the interaction on her Instagram story, where the fan clarifies that the gift is a bottle of luxury glow drops.

A post shared by ARiiE

A photo posted by ariie.skincare on

“Luxury glow drops? It’s going to make my skin look good? I’m 31, it better make me look younger,” Cardi said playfully. She then panned the camera to the gift itself, which had been presented in a box with a personal note. 

Once again, Cardi demonstrated how important it is to her to uplift others. Her support for this small business earned the young entrepreneur new followers, increased interest, and more orders–just in time for Christmas. Here’s hoping that Cardi continues to turn the world’s attention to woman-owned, BIPOC-owned small businesses, and that Ariie Skincare has its busiest season yet. 

Gabrielle Ulubay
Beauty Writer

Gabrielle Ulubay is a Beauty Writer at Marie Claire. She has also written about sexual wellness, politics, culture, and fashion at Marie Claire and at publications including The New York Times, HuffPost Personal, Bustle, Alma, Muskrat Magazine, O'Bheal, and elsewhere. Her personal essay in The New York Times' Modern Love column kickstarted her professional writing career in 2018, and that piece has since been printed in the 2019 revised edition of the Modern Love book. Having studied history, international relations, and film, she has made films on politics and gender equity in addition to writing about cinema for Film Ireland, University College Cork, and on her personal blog, gabrielleulubay.medium.com. Before working with Marie Claire, Gabrielle worked in local government, higher education, and sales, and has resided in four countries and counting. She has worked extensively in the e-commerce and sales spaces since 2020, and spent two years at Drizly, where she developed an expertise in finding the best, highest quality goods and experiences money can buy.

Deeply political, she believes that skincare, haircare, and sexual wellness are central tenets to one's overall health and fights for them to be taken seriously, especially for people of color. She also loves studying makeup as a means of artistic expression, drawing on her experience as an artist in her analysis of beauty trends. She's based in New York City, where she can be found watching movies or running her art business when she isn't writing. Find her on Twitter at @GabrielleUlubay or on Instagram at @gabrielle.ulubay, or follow her art at @suburban.graffiti.art