Rachel Chinouriri interview: The star spills her beauty secrets
This week, our June/July cover star Rachel Chinouriri spilled all of her beauty secrets and go-tos; from her wash-day routine to her makeup obsession, here's her life in beauty...
Black beauty means to me elegance, class, sophistication. I think there is a grandness to Black women. Growing up and seeing Black women, it's like they love to be neat, tidy, well-kept, the finest – all the way to the nails, the hair. I'm a bit more rough around the edges, and I have three older sisters who would see me about to go out and be like, 'No, you're not doing that.'
So, I think it's fierce, it's stunning, it's clean, it's chic, and I just love being a Black woman and being in the Black beauty scene.
I've had one facial in my life and she put a serum in my skin and blew it with cold air? I glowed for like three days but I was like, 'I don't know if I really needed that.' But she's telling me about all the other facials, and I'm like, 'Give me a skincare routine that will keep me in check until I have to go for the whole microneedling thing. I'll wait it out for a bit.'
I don't have recommendations for things like Botox or fillers, because I haven't started that, and I always say that I'm going to try and do my skincare for as long as possible before I hit that point, because I'm not against it. But I do have recommendations for dermatologists – Stratum Clinic in Wimbledon is like *chef's kiss*. They do laser, facials. Larysa is my queen, I love her so much. And then Dr Sharon Belmo, she's my dermatologist and did my PRP for my hair, and she is a queen. The two of them, they fix me up good.
Right, so it's quite simple actually, because I got taught that less is more. I also have a keratin treatment in my hair, which helps because it's always getting straightened and stuff. My hairdresser loves Olaplex. I just always detangle with a conditioner, and then shampoo. Which is quite easy with a wider-tooth comb, just make sure you always tease [knots] out very, very gently.
And then I use any mask which is highly hydrating, for at least 15 minutes, and then wash it out. And then I'll spray my hair with a leave-in conditioner. Because I have a keratin treatment, in my hair, my blow-dry is super easy, and my hair blow-dries almost completely straight most of the time.
So yeah, it's quite easy actually. My hair tends to be pretty much straight as soon as I blow-dry it, and it's very simple, but as long as I detangle with conditioner, I'll be good.
Yes, my go-to hairdresser is Selasie, and her Instagram is @phedeliarose. I was pulling out my hair from stress, and she saw me and was like, 'Dear Lord, let me help you.' And we're kind of on this routine together. She taught me a lot about how to actually take care of my hair health because she knows the fast-paced life of things.
Can I also shout out Shamara Roper? Selasie is my hairdresser, but I've been working with Shamara since five or six years ago? I think? And the combination of the two – we've always done such experimental pieces and things with my hair, and when my hair fell out, Shamara always took good care of my hair on set and made sure I felt like a princess. So, those are my girlies and I appreciate them very much.
Bad haircare experiences… Can I just say myself? Because there was a phase when I was braiding my own hair – I started learning it when I was 13, and by 16 I had a very sparse amount of hair, probably because of my technique. I think in my brain, I'm a very DIY queen, and the first time I got a hairdresser was probably only two years ago. And I'm realising very quickly that I was just doing everything wrong. I was just taking bits and bobs from everyone on YouTube, with all sorts of different hair types. So, yeah. Getting a hairdresser was the best thing, but I was my own worst enemy.
Let me get up this list, I actually literally took a picture of it this morning, so let me zoom into this. I can't live without UKLASH – I used to be putting all sorts of things on my lashes and I've tried every lash serum possible, and UKLASH is just my fave. NeoStrata is my favourite skincare brand – the retinol is amazing, I use the vitamin C [NeoStrata Enlighten 15% Vitamin C + PHA Serum, £62.40] from there which is amazing.
[I love this] serum, called SkinBetter Alto Defense Serum, £168. I don't really know what that does, but ever since I started using it, I've had glass skin, so kind of excited about that. And then my dermatologist said, 'Always use vitamin C. Always. And a good one.' And I use Revision's vitamin C, which is really good.
Then, I have the NeoStrata Skin Active Firming Tri-Therapy Lifting Serum, £88 – that is a game-changer. I don't know if it tightens? But that's a game-changer for me, for my skincare. NeoStrata Skin Active Intense Eye Therapy, £62 I use underneath my eyes.
Then, La Roche-Posay – I use them for moisturiser, then I use the NeoStrata suncream. Then, in the evening, I've got a retinol eye cream and the Laneige Bouncy and Firm Sleeping Mask, £32, which is just my fave.
I'm quite a simple girly. I don't do skin brushing, but I have a pair of gloves. I can't shower without the exfoliating gloves – if I wash without the exfoliating gloves, I feel like I've not showered, so I love those. And day to day, I love a vocal steam. I think my bodycare is quite limited, but you know – exfoliating gloves, and Lush Happy Hippy, £6 is my favourite body wash.
My facial skincare. My facial skincare is catastrophically expensive, and it hurts me to say, but I was like, 'Let me invest.' So, I'll use the tiniest bits so it actually lasts me a long time. But my skin – and especially for the job I'm in – my skin looks pretty good, if you ask me.
I'm gonna say UKLASH, but beauty obsession… It could kind of be anything, couldn't it? There is a blush from Sleek and it breaks my heart, I don't know if they still sell it, but I hope they do.
Okay, can this be a campaign for them to bring it back? It breaks my heart. It does not matter what skin complexion you are, everyone is using this colour right in the middle, Sleek, please – if you have any in the warehouse, anything, I'm begging you, just I will buy all of it – nothing quite hits the same. And it's just, yeah. This is the perfect time to say this because me and my housemate – who is also my makeup artist – have been going crazy trying to re-find this. It's even broken in half, we're devastated. So yeah, Sleek – that would be my one thing.
To be honest, no. I've had mishaps before I really started getting into the industry, then I met Georgia Hope, who is my makeup artist and my housemate. And now we've hit a point where I kind of don't trust anyone else to touch my face, and she's always got me looking prim and proper – exactly how I want. She's always like, 'Ooh, should we try this?' and I'm like, 'No!', and she's like, 'Okay!' – bringing me ideas and I'm always like, 'Nope, I don't want this!'
But I think she'd be the only person who could convince me to try anything, because yeah, I'm very stubborn with makeup. She's never had me looking rough, so that's my glam girlies. Mwah! Love you! It's a strong team!
My makeup bag would not be the same without a brown lip liner. I can have almost no makeup, and if I have the lip liner, it just makes a difference. So, that's my one thing I have to have. My favourite? I'm going to say MAC Chestnut Lip Pencil.
Keeks Reid is the Beauty Director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Keeks is a hair fanatic through and through. She started her career in beauty journalism in 2013 as editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines working her way to Acting Editor of Blackhair magazine at 23 years old. She spent much of her career working in trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. Which is why she is a regular contributor to Cosmo's Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents, creates content on social media and works with a range of beauty companies; from magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
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- Buzz Feed
36 Beauty Products You'll Wish You Started Years Ago
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Just try not to regret all the years you wasted sitting in the actual sun for hours. A K-18 leave-in mask to help bring overprocessed and color-damaged hair back to life. Unlike other repairing treatments like Olaplex, this one doesn't need to be rinsed out: Just smooth this through your clean, towel-dried hair (but skip the conditioner!), wait four minutes, and then style as usual. NYX's extreme hold eyebrow gel that keeps your brows in place for a whopping 16 hours. Unlike the other countless brow gels collecting dust in your makeup drawer, this one is designed to dry down without a sticky finish — and it won't flake throughout the day! The Catrice "Instant Awake" Under Eye Brightener, which will have you singing 🎵 "where have you been all my li-i-i-i-i-ife?" 🎵 on those busy mornings when you need to look like you got a full eight hours of sleep. It's meant to blend seamlessly into the skin and adds light coverage to dark circles. 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The best-selling Sol De Janeiro Bum Bum Cream — it not only smells like caramel and pistachio deliciousness (pair it with the matching body mist to make the fragrance last even longer), but also can help tighten and firm the skin with repeated use thanks to the inclusion of caffeine-rich guarana extract. An OGX air-dry leave-in cream, which is a must-have for anyone who is constantly running late — you can just throw in your hair after a shower, head out the door, and finally be on time for once!!! Where was this when we were in college?!! The coconut oil and shea butter add extra moisture, while the citrus oils help add shine to your curls. E.l.f.'s Halo Glow Liquid Filter — even Charlotte Tilbury herself would be super impressed with this. This can be used in so many ways to get a glowy, lit-from-within look: apply it to your high points like a highlighter, mix with your foundation or moisturizer for an all-over glow, or get wild and slather it all over for the ultimate shine. 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Danielle Spencer, child star on ‘What's Happening!!,' dies at 60
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Los Angeles Times
13 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
L.A. jazz legend Bobby Bradford lost his Altadena home to wildfire. At 91, music is ‘all I have left'
Fifty years ago, L.A. free-jazz titan Bobby Bradford moved into a rambling, verdant house in Altadena. The cornet and trumpet virtuoso, who performed in Ornette Coleman's band and taught jazz history at Pomona College and Pasadena City College for decades, chose the neighborhood partly because it was bustling with artists. He finally had enough bedrooms for his young family to thrive in a bucolic corner of the city with deep Black roots. In January, Bradford's house burned down in the Eaton fire, alongside thousands of others in his cherished Altadena. At 91, he never imagined starting his life over again in tiny rented apartments, with decades of memories in cinders. Despite it all, he's still playing music. (He said that while he did not receive grants from major organizations such as MusiCares or Sweet Relief, a GoFundMe and others efforts by fellow musicians helped him replace his cherished horn.) At the Hammer Museum on Thursday, he'll revisit 'Stealin' Home,' a 2019 suite of original compositions inspired by his lifelong hero — the baseball legend and Dodgers' color-line-breaker Jackie Robinson, a man who knew about persevering through sudden, unrelenting adversity. 'That's all I have left,' Bradford said, pulling his horn out of its case to practice for the afternoon. 'I'm [91] years old. I don't have years to wait around to rebuild.' For now, Bradford lives a small back house on a quiet Pasadena residential street. It's his and his wife's fifth temporary residence since the Eaton fire, and they've done their best to make it a home. Bradford hung up vintage posters from old European jazz festivals and corralled enough equipment together to peaceably write music in the garage. Still, he misses his home in Altadena — both the physical neighborhood where he'd run into friends at the post office and the dream of Altadena, where working artists and multigenerational families could live next to nature at the edge of Los Angeles. 'We knew who all the musicians were. Even if we didn't spent much time all together, it did feel like one big community,' Bradford said. 'We knew players for the L.A. Phil, painters, dancers.' These days, there's a weariness in his eyes and gait, understandable after such a profound disruption in the twilight of his life. He's grateful that smaller local institutions have stepped up to provide places for him to practice his craft, even as insurance companies dragged him through a morass. 'The company said they won't insure me again because because I filed a claim on my house,' he said, bewildered. 'How is that my fault?' But he draws resilience from his recent music, which evokes the gigantic accomplishments and withering abuse Robinson faced as the first Black player in Major League Baseball. As a child in 1947, Bradford remembers listening to the moment Robinson took the field, and while he has always admired the feat, his understanding of Robinson has evolved with age. 'It was such a revelation to me as a kid, but later I was more interested in who the person was that would agree to be the sacrificial lamb,' Bradford said. 'How do you turn that into flesh-and-blood music? I began to think about him being called up, with a kind of call-and-response in the music.' The challenge Bradford gave himself — evoking Robinson's grace on the field and fears off it — caps a long career of adapting his art form to reflect and challenge the culture around him. With Coleman's band in the '50s and '60s, and on his own formidable catalog as a bandleader, he helped pioneer free jazz, a style that subverted the studied cool of bebop with blasts of atonality and mercurial song structures. He played on Coleman's 1972 LP 'Science Fiction,' alongside Indian vocalist Asha Puthli. 'Ornette played with so much raw feeling,' Bradford said. 'He showed me how the same note could be completely different if you played it in a different chord. I had to learn that to play his songs.' His longstanding collaboration with clarinetist John Carter set the template for post-bop in L.A., charged with possibility but lyrical and yearning. He's equally proud of his decades in academia, introducing young students to centuries of the Black American music that culminated in jazz, and the new ways of being that emerged from it. At both Pomona College and Pasadena City College (where Robinson attended and honed his athletic prowess), Bradford helped his students inhabit the double consciousness required of Black artists to survive, invent and advance their art forms in America — from slavery's field songs to Southern sacred music, to Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan and into the wilds of modernity. 'You always had that one kid who thinks he knows more about this than I do,' he said with a laugh. 'But then you make him understand that to get to this new Black identity, you have to understand what Louis Armstrong had to overcome, how he had to perform in certain ways in front of white people, so he could create this music.' He's been rehearsing with a mix of older and younger local musicians at Healing Force of the Universe, a beloved Pasadena record store and venue that reminds him of the makeshift jazz club he owned near Pasadena's Ice House in the '70s. Places like that are on edge in L.A. these days. Local clubs such as ETA and the Blue Whale (where Bradford recorded a live album in 2018) have closed or faced hard times postpandemic. Others, like the new Blue Note in Hollywood, have big aspirations. He's hopeful L.A. jazz — ever an improvisational art form — will survive and thrive even after the loss of a neighborhood like Altadena displaced so many artists. 'I remember someone coming into our club in the '70s and saying he hated the music we were playing. I asked him what he didn't like about it, and he said, 'Well, everything.' I told him, 'Maybe this isn't the place for you then,'' Bradford laughed. 'You can't live in Los Angeles without that spirit. There are always going to be new places to play.' He's worried about the country, though, as many once-settled questions about who belongs in America are called into doubt under the current president. January's wildfires proved to him, very intimately, that the most fixed points in one's life and community are vulnerable. Even Jackie Robinson, whose feats seemed an indisputable point of pride for all Americans, had his military career temporarily scrubbed from government websites in a recent purge against allegedly 'woke' history. 'I thought we had rowed ourselves across the River Jordan,' Bradford said, shaking his head. 'But now we're back on the other side again. We thought we had arrived.' Who knows how many years of performing Bradford has left. But as the sound of his melancholy horn arced through a sweltering Pasadena afternoon, one couldn't help but be grateful to still have him here playing, even after losing everything. 'You know, in his first game, in three times at bat, Jackie Robinson didn't get a hit,' he said. 'Folks said, 'Oh, it's so sad. We told you he couldn't play on a professional level.' But when you dig into it, you discover that he didn't get a hit at the game, but he laid down a sacrifice to score the winning run.'
