Friday, December 26, 2014

Black is Beautiful: Aídah

Ready for Selma!
How old are you? I'm 29 years old.
What's your beauty philosophy? I don't really allow myself to succumb to the idea of beauty because I think the idea is enmeshed in whether people measure up to standards that were and continue to be created from their exclusion. So you often end having to be dangerously conformist or submissive in order to be beautiful.  Alternately, I'm a huge proponent of vanity, which I define as an intentional and impassioned uplifting of one's physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual integrity. For me, it's a concerted effort to edify myself on my own terms. So my "beauty philosophy" is to be vain, very vain.


Who do you look to for beauty inspiration? I look to anyone that possesses some quality or trait that I immediately see in myself or aspire to see. Lately my inspirations have ranged from Chelo AlonsoC. L. R. James (What a beautiful mind!), and Whitley Gilbert from "A Different World" to Spanish Matadors (The suits they wear are so stunning!), Yvonne Nelson (Because I think we favor each other)  and Stella Jean (I find the designer's take on Ankara fabric refreshing). Recentlythe 1940s have also been a very strong influence on my imagination because the silhouettes tend to work with my figure and I love how the makeup is present but minimalistic.
Haitian Designer Stella Jean
Describe your skin care routine. I've learned that for me, great skin starts from the inside out, so I focus on eating well-balanced, nutritious meals, taking appropriate supplements and drinking water. When I stray from this, my skin will look dull and I might get acne as well. And inversely, once I start to eat well and drink water, my skin will go right back to its best condition. Other than that I don't do much: I wash my face and body with a sulphur-based soap, moisturize with whatever lotion I have (I always mix my lotions with olive oil), and I exfoliate at least three times per week.


What are some of the things in your make-up bag that are tried and true and you can't live without?
1. Ole Henriksen's Sheer Transformation Brightening Moisturizer - I've been using this for about 5 years and it really does keep your skin supple.

2. Lush Cosmetics' Ocean Salt Face and Body Scrub - this product has done nothing but wonders for my skin since I started using it about 6 months ago and the results were immediate.


3. Tinted Moisturizer from Giella Custom Blend Cosmetics- because this was custom made for my skin it's perfection when I wear it. I also have some amazing custom lipsticks, powders and blushes from this line.

4. "A-Piers to Be Tan" Nail Polish by OPI - this is a great brown color in general, and a beautiful "nude" for medium and darker brown complexions.

Available at amazon.com

5. "Ginger Snap" Butter Gloss by NYX - I generally don't like lip-gloss but this one feels more like a crème lips. It's moisturizing and has none of the stickiness and tacky shininess that I hate about gloss.

What are some of the new things you've picked up lately that you're obsessed with?
1. 3/4 length gloves, also known as opera gloves: So far I have three leather pairs in cream, black and red. I've recently come to appreciate what I like to call the ceremony of self-immersion, and these gloves really speak to that because there is a ritual to putting them on and taking them off. I find the experience really deliberate and gratifying.

2. Wolford Individual 10 Tights: These are actually sheer panty hose and I love them for the same reason I love my gloves - sheer panty hose are the epitome of ceremonious self-immersion! You really have to take your time with them. I also think sheer black hose are very flirty and suggestive, so I get to be a bit of a vedette when I wear them.

3. Lime green pumps from Topshop. During summer 2014 someone suggested lime green as a color I might wear, and I was so averse to it. But then I actually tried it and it is such a fun color! I'm actually shocked at the large amount of clothing I own that can be paired with the color, so these shoes were a must. I also have a lime green purse that I love.


4. Tea! I really like the Traditional Medicinals' Healthy Cycle Tea and find that it's helping me to have less discomfort during menstruation. I actually wish I would have discovered this much sooner.

5. Manicures! It's a treat I've been doing more and more often for the past year and a half. I mostly go for hand massages and polish changes but as someone who was teased for having very long and skinny fingers, even those simple services put joy and appreciation into a body part that I have often tried to hide.


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