One Year of Reign

A year ago today I launched Seventh Reign Lux and I still can’t believe I’m typing that.
If you’re new here, let me tell you how we got here. Because Seventh Reign Lux didn’t start with a business plan. It started with a love story.

In 2015 my husband was wrongfully prosecuted after a police shooting. And for seven years, I fought. We fought. Rallies. Billboards. Courtrooms. Press conferences. News cameras. I showed up every single time because that is what you do when the system is trying to take someone you love. And you know what else we did? We showed up to every visit looking GOOD and smelling GOOD. That was our resistance. I wasn’t walking in there looking any kind of way. My hair was done. My skin was right. I smelled amazing. And he showed up for me the same way. That was how we said “you will not break us.”

And if you know me you know I have ALWAYS been obsessed with fragrance. That is not new. I’m the one layering scents before anybody was talking about scent layering. The one asking everybody “what are you wearing??” The one who couldn’t leave the house without smelling like a whole experience. That love for fragrance and how things feel on your skin — that was always in me. That was the seed for everything you see today.

But here’s what nobody really talks about. In the middle of all that fighting and showing up for everybody else? I lost myself. I really did. I forgot what it felt like to just be soft. To take care of me. To slow down. When my husband came home and I could finally exhale — I started pouring back into myself. My skin. My body. My peace. And something woke up in me. I started making things in my kitchen. Not for a brand. For ME. Because I needed to feel like myself again. I combined everything I loved — fragrance, luxury, softness — and put it in a jar.
That became Seventh Reign Lux.

I told myself — if I get 20 orders I’m keeping this going. Just 20. That’s all I need to know this is real. I’ve tripled that and then some.
And this year? This year grew me. I rebranded. I went back to the drawing board more times than I can count. I reformulated. I studied. I leveled up. And one of the most beautiful parts of this journey has been the Black women I’ve met along the way. Women in this industry who didn’t sell me the game — they gave it to me. Freely. Just because they wanted to see me win. Every conversation, every piece of advice, every “girl let me show you how I did this” sent me back to my kitchen inspired and ready to try again. I will never forget that.

Then the butterfly came.🦋
I was standing outside church last summer and a butterfly just landed on me. And it kept happening. Over and over. Butterflies everywhere I turned. I couldn’t shake it. Transformation. Rebirth. Becoming. That was my whole story. I knew I had to change the logo and what came out of that is what you see now — the butterfly with the SR monogram inside. That symbol means everything to me because I lived it. Every hard season. Every layer of becoming who I am right now.

And y’all. YOUR DMs. That is my favorite part of all of this. When you message me like “Kelly what did you put in this??” When you tell me your skin has never been this soft. When you leave reviews talking about your scars are fading or your eczema finally calmed down. When you tell me your daughter stole your Skin Soufflé. I read every single one. EVERY one. That is what keeps me going.

Because here’s what I know — as Black women we deserve softness. We deserve luxury. We deserve to open a jar and feel like the most expensive woman in the room. Nobody had to give us permission for that. I just wanted to make sure we had products that matched what we already are.
New chapters are coming. New products. New collections. I am so excited for what’s next and I can’t wait for y’all to see it.

But real talk — I’m building an empire. I love my job and the work I do every day but THIS is mine. Every formula. Every label. Every late night pouring and packaging with my hands. Mine. And today I decorated my own anniversary cake by hand. Black rosettes, gold leaf, shimmer — because that’s how I’ve done everything with this brand. By hand. From my kitchen. With my kids in the next room.

I’m building this so my daughters can inherit something. So they can watch their mama start from a kitchen counter and build something that lasts. That’s the legacy.

So happy first birthday SRL. And thank you to every single person who ordered, shared, reviewed, reposted, or just believed in me when this was just an idea and a dream.
Year one was the foundation. Everything else is elevation. 
🦋
With love, 
xo Kelly
Founder, Seventh Reign Lux