But for me personally, the R&B star’s influence went beyond music. In eighth grade, I had no idea that Aaliyah would set me on a lifelong path of embracing a carefree Black girl aesthetic, long before that term would become a hashtag. While Aaliyah did experiment with makeup (her video for “We Need A Resolution” featured futuristic smoky eyes and orange-striped lips, and her final visual for “Rock The Boat” included an iconic pair of gem-stoned lashes), she was known, first and foremost, for effortlessly toeing the line between tomboyish and girly, reminding her fans that you don't have to pick one or the other. In a time when most female singers never left the house without high heels, heavy eyeshadow, and wigs and weaves for days (think Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, and Madonna in the '90s, and Britney Spears and Destiny’s Child in the early aughts), Aaliyah was a tomboy in a girly girl's pop diva world, a rising talent whose makeup was an accessory, not the star of the show.