My Beauty Is Black
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Alicia Keys’ natural aura. The perpetually glamourous Laverne Cox. Cardi B’s trend-making talons. Winnie Harlow’s magnificent complexion. Zoë Kravitz with braids, baby bangs or a pixie. Jodie Turner-Smith’s preternatural ability to rock ANY style. Black beauty is as boundless as it is deeply personal, and while it’s often (and erroneously) presented as a monolith, there’s no one way to express it.
At StyleCaster, we’re in awe of the vast array of Black women that drive culture forward by defining beauty on their own terms. Ahead of Juneteenth, we photographed four badass creators from the She Media Collective—the most inspirational women you could hope to meet any day—as they revealed their intimate beauty journeys.
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They’re all distinctly stunning with stories worth telling, and their experiences demonstrate the true range of Black beauty. Read on to learn how they cultivate and appreciate beauty, directly in their own words.
Aisha Beau
“My relationship with beauty is an interesting one. At an early age, my mom would tell me how beautiful I was and taught me how to take care of my hair and skin. But when I ventured out into the world, I was often met with commentary on being too skinny and just ‘pretty for a dark-skinned girl.
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My hair has always been very thick. When I was 7 years old, my mom relaxed it to make it easier to manage. I quickly learned how much society valued long, straight hair. I started to feel it was the only thing that made me beautiful. I spent a lot of time going to the salon or on my own ensuring it was always silky straight, so much so that when I got into my late 20s, I noticed my hair began to plateau. It wouldn’t grow past my shoulders anymore, and I saw a lot of breakage at the crown.
This was around when the natural hair movement was still relatively new, and I told myself I wouldn’t be one to join it. I thought, ‘natural hair wouldn’t look good on me.’ Despite that being how my hair quite literally grew out of my head. Until one day, I decided I’d had enough of frying my hair into submission and decided to let my curls grow out. I cut it all off and started over again.
At first, I was so shocked by how much of my face I could see and didn’t know exactly how to style this new texture. I didn’t post any photos on Instagram for a month because I felt so uncomfortable not knowing what to do with my hair for the first time in my life. After a while, I knew something had to give. I decided to do this big chop, so I had to embrace it.
I started to experiment with different products and eventually found my tribe. From there, the rest has been history. In the process of loving my hair again, it helped me to love myself even more. To learn what works, what doesn’t—to be more patient, and embrace my natural beauty.”
CeCe Olisa
“As a plus-size black woman with natural hair (sisterlocks), my relationship with beauty is a daily mix of self-care, self-acceptance and unapologetic indulgence. I believe that beauty is a love affair, a daily rendezvous with glamour that we can all enjoy. One of the best parts about being the founder of Cocoa by CeCe is that we get to create spaces where everyone feels seen, valued, and truly beautiful.
I think that stereotypes limit our perception of beauty, confining it within a narrow framework that excludes so many unique and magnificent individuals. I’m not a very ambiguous person. I’m very tall, curvy, I am a black woman with dark skin and natural hair. I know firsthand that beauty stereotypes have a way of encroaching upon our self-worth—we want to ignore them, but they’re always there whispering to us what we should or shouldn’t be. I have a vision of inclusivity and empowerment that I hold dear.
As a beauty founder, I’m on a mission to dismantle these stereotypes, and create a space where everyone is celebrated, regardless of their size, color, or shape. I’m so grateful to be able to do this work.
“Don’t wait on your weight to live the life you want.”
-Cece’s mirror mantra
At the end of the day, I feel most beautiful back in the serenity of my bathroom during my night routine. It feels good to wipe off every trace of makeup, release the weight of the day and hop into a bubble bath. I didn’t always feel confident without makeup, and now I do and that feels incredible. When self-care and self-love intertwine right before bed, I get to nourish my skin with my favorite hydrating products like Clinique on my face and Cocoa by Cece’s Doll Butter on my body. I’m back to me and happy in the skin that I’m in, I feel effortlessly beautiful.”
Gabrielle Amani
“My relationship with beauty is as natural as breathing. I feel beautiful in my bonnet, when I wake up, and with makeup. My relationship with beauty starts within and with my self-love.
The ritual that truly makes me feel beautiful is taking a shower, meditating while in the shower, washing my hair to feel super clean and then moisturizing my body, hair and soul. This makes me feel extremely beautiful.
“Wow, you’re stunning!”
– Gabrielle’s mirror mantra
Nothing really bothers me about beauty stereotypes—beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. It’s important to not allow outside influences to affect how you feel about yourself, and I rely on meditation, forgiveness and a lot of oils to feel my best. I believe beauty starts within and it’s essential to nourish your soul as much as your body.
A strong skin routine is also my secret. I feel the most beautiful when my hair is done and my makeup beat is by me! I just love pampering myself and wearing the things I love! When I’m able to do that for myself I feel the most beautiful.”
Adrienne Smith
“I am a lover of beauty. I love beautiful people, cars, words and landscapes. I find myself drawn to things that are aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes that manifests in a physical form such as a beautiful bouquet of flowers, and yet other times, the beauty is more abstract—such as a well-written villain in a television series. To me, ‘beauty’ indicates that time was taken to think through, create and execute a vision. Whether it was the florist who took time and effort to assemble the perfect assortment of flowers or the writer who imagined, at great length, exactly how she wanted the story arc of her villain to unfold. In both cases, I appreciate the uniqueness and perfection on display.
My friends and teammates say that I am a great hype woman. I love supporting and encouraging others in their endeavors, and I try to do that for myself as well. If I’m having a particularly rough day, I will look in the mirror and remind myself of my previous accomplishments—both in business and football—to fuel me.
Alternatively, if I’m getting ready to head out clubbing with friends, once I finish my makeup, I’ll look at myself in the mirror, tell myself I look good, and back up that statement by singing or rapping an appropriate set of lyrics from a Beyoncé, Megan Thee Stallion, or Nicki Minaj song.
I have two distinct and disparate moments in which I feel the most beautiful. The first is when I am in heels, dressed to the nines, with my hair and makeup done, on my way to attend some amazing event. The second is every time I run into the end zone to score a touchdown. In the former scenario, the beauty is all mine, but in the latter scenario, I share the beauty of each touchdown with others—my teammates and coaches who helped make it possible.”
Creative Direction & Styling: Ashley Scarboro
Hair: Jason Linkow
Makeup: Markphong Tram
Photography: George Chinsee
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