Latest news with #TheCosmoBlackBeautyHub
Cosmopolitan
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Starface founder Kara Brothers shares her secret for achieving tighter, brighter skin
Here at The Cosmo Black Beauty Hub, we absolutely do not gatekeep, so when we get a chance to quiz some of our favourite Black women about their go-to beauty products, tips and treatments, we don't hold back – after all, that's how our Little Black Beauty Book Franchise was born. All the tea on our favourite star's life in beauty, served hot. This week, we caught up with the founder of Starface, Kara Brothers, to deep dive into her little Black beauty book... Black beauty means fun to me. It means exploring anything you want to and feeling great in your skin. I'm loving my Omnilux LED Mask these days! I feel like my face looks tighter and brighter, and a bonus is that it scares everyone in my household. Ingleton Dermatology in Manhattan, New York, has been lovely. Everyone I've seen knows exactly how to work with melanated skin, and I just feel so seen and protected there. I am a curly girl and finally have a cut that really works. I use Oribe Moisture & Control Shampoo and Conditioner. I finish with Christophe Robin Hydrating Leave-In Cream. It's lightweight and gives my finer but full curls a lot of definition. Abbie at Arte Salon is the curl and colour whisperer! I used to straighten my hair ALL the time. I love how it looks straight, and it's really easy to manage, but because I did it so often over many years, it took me a long time to really embrace my curls, especially in a corporate environment. I'm glad I dropped the belief that curls are somehow less professional – that's a societal construct and I no longer wish to perpetuate it. Starface's Hydro-Stars! I tend to pick based on where I'm going and what I'm doing, but Recovery (purple) is a fave. And I always have a Star Balm with me, too! I don't do enough body treatments, but you know what I feel is one of the most underrated? Foot massages! It feels so good just to have your feet pampered. I used to go quite a bit, but somehow that fell off. This is my sign to bring them back. My HigherDOSE Infrared Mat. It really saves me from winter blues and has my skin looking so, so good. I thought I wouldn't use it much, but I certainly find a way to implement it into my routine once a week. Every day I wear the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Definer and Saie Mascara 101. They are both so reasonably priced, and I'm very grateful. I have a lot of memories of putting on blush like a clown. Just one big red dot in the middle of my cheek… I still haven't perfected it, but I've come a long way. Starface Starbalm in Coconut! Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she's an expert in recognising the season's next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You'll usually find her putting TikTok's recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it's true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
Cosmopolitan
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Rachel Chinouriri interview: The star spills her beauty secrets
Here at The Cosmo Black Beauty Hub, we absolutely do not gatekeep, so when we get a chance to quiz some of our favourite Black women about their go-to beauty products, tips and treatments, we don't hold back – after all, that's how our Little Black Beauty Book Franchise was born. All the tea on our favourite star's life in beauty, served hot. 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.
Cosmopolitan
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Mahalia loves a Hydrafacial – here, she spills the tea on her go-to clinic, plus more beauty secrets
Here at The Cosmo Black Beauty Hub, we absolutely do not gatekeep, so when we get a chance to quiz some of our favourite Black women about their go-to beauty products, tips and treatments, we don't hold back – after all, that's how our Little Black Beauty Book Franchise was born. All the tea on our favourite star's life in beauty, served hot. This week, we caught up with British singer-songwriter and actress, Mahalia, to find out her top beauty tips, tricks and secrets – from her wash day hair routine to the stylist she's been going to since 14 years old, below, the star spills all the tea... Black beauty to me represents so many things. Creativity, strength, history and the richness of black identity. I absolutely love a Hydrafacial. I always leave feeling like a brand new button!!!! My skin feels so clean and young after. Skin and Sanctuary is my favourite place to go. The facial treatments are fab, and the clinicians are honestly brilliant. I always get a Hydrafacial! It's such a lovely, relaxing space too! At the moment, because of my boho braids, I don't really have a signature wash day routine. But when my curls are out, I use all Pattern Beauty. I use the Pattern Medium Shampoo twice before going into the Heavy Conditioner. I usually leave this on for about 30 minutes before washing it out. Then I use the Leave-In Conditioner from root to tip and go over the tips with the Argan Oil Blend Serum. Diffuse until almost dry and then let the air do the rest! Ah! My hairstylist is my go-to. He's been doing my hair since I was 14, and I wouldn't go to anyone else. Rio Sreedharan – collect your flowers, honey!!! I definitely had bad experiences growing up in Leicester. There were lots of salons that wouldn't touch my Afro when I was a kid, which messed me up a lot, I think. I was constantly confused about why they wouldn't cut it or style it, and I think it just amplified all of my insecurities about being different as a kid growing up in a majority white town. Weleda Skin Food. Ugh. My fave. I've honestly never had one! I love the idea of getting a lymphatic drainage but I've never actually been for one. I'm a high street, affordable girly mostly, but I am completely obsessed with the Dior Dreamskin Care & Perfect Le Fluide Perfecteur. It's so beautiful under makeup and keeps me feeling so hydrated. The £1 lipgloss in Paks at the counter. They're so sticky and a bit messy but my gos,h do they give you GLOSS!!! Dream Matte Mousse – when they only had about 10 shades. I spent every day of year 8 looking like Casper the ghost!!! My Made By Mitchell Curve Case. I love her. Can't go anywhere without her! Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she's an expert in recognising the season's next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You'll usually find her putting TikTok's recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it's true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
Cosmopolitan
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Girls Don't Sync star Matty Chiabi spills the tea on the beauty product that changed her life
Here at The Cosmo Black Beauty Hub, we absolutely do not gatekeep, so when we get a chance to quiz some of our favourite Black women about their go-to beauty products, tips and treatments, we don't hold back – after all, that's how our Little Black Beauty Book Franchise was born. All the tea on our favourite star's life in beauty, served hot. This week, we caught up with the Girls Don't Sync star, Matty Chiabi, to find out her top beauty tips, tricks and secrets – from life-changing beauty splurges to affordable makeup must-haves, she spills all the tea... Beauty is skin deep because how you internalise yourself reflects on the outside. For a long time I thought it was only the physical but my 20s has been all about redefining what beauty actually is and I quickly learnt, particularly through my career in the arts, that it's not always what I'm wearing or what size I am and more about how I feel about myself internally. A balanced diet! My skin is the first thing to remind me of my poor food choices. If I've been working late, drinking lots, and ending the night with four wings and chips, my skin feels and looks gross the morning after. I'm always socialising or working late nights, but in more recent years, I have really tried to eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated (particularly during the week), and my skin has been thanking me for it. Do lash extensions count? I have to make up for the lack of hair on my head somehow, right? I love a hybrid set, I almost always have my lash extensions in because it adds a feminine touch and where I'm constantly filming or performing, it makes getting ready 10 times easier. Lashes done and no hair? That's my hack to getting ready in less than 20 minutes. When you're bald, every day feels like a wash day. No scalp routine is complete without moisturiser. After every wash, I have to use the Crème of Nature Creamy Oil Moisturising Hair Lotion. You can't have a crusty scalp! I go to this gorgeous salon in South London called my bedroom *laughs*. People are often shocked to find out that I shave my own head! When I first went bald, I would go to the barbershop up the road, but I quickly learnt that the barbershop is a safe space for men to be honest, open and have a laugh with each other! I don't need (or want) to put my two pence in about their relationship drama or 'offer a woman's perspective'. I could've tried a salon, but I'm such a DIY girl. Even when I had hair, I would do it myself, so I thought, you know what, clippers are £20 from Argos, how hard can it be? I gave it a go and it looked great, so whenever I need a haircut, I just do it myself. I'm like my very own mobile barber, it's fab! No brainer – Weleda Skin Food Nourishing Day Cream. No face cream has ever compared to this one for me. I'm quite picky with my face creams because a lot of the time I don't wear makeup, so I need the perfect face cream to make me feel radiant on no-makeup days. Weleda is my go-to lightweight, long-lasting moisturiser and super hydrating. I love it! From time to time, I really love splurging on the simple things. Why opt for a basic body wash when I can get the Space NK Caribbean Shores Body Wash (the horror of walking out of the shower and realising I'm not actually in the Caribbean). Why opt for a standard body cream when I can treat myself to the Fenty Skin Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream (it will change your life). The NYX Pro Fix Stick Correcting Concealer is 10/10. I get mine in the colour Cocoa, which does a great job of hiding my dark circles and tricking everyone into thinking I'm not wearing any makeup. I especially love it in the summer because I wear less makeup in the heat and I like to show off the natural glow, so this product under the eyes is my go-to. Best £7.99 ever spent! Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she's an expert in recognising the season's next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You'll usually find her putting TikTok's recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it's true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
Cosmopolitan
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Girls Don't Sync star Matty Chaibi spills the tea on the beauty product that changed her life
Here at The Cosmo Black Beauty Hub, we absolutely do not gatekeep, so when we get a chance to quiz some of our favourite Black women about their go-to beauty products, tips and treatments, we don't hold back – after all, that's how our Little Black Beauty Book Franchise was born. All the tea on our favourite star's life in beauty, served hot. This week, we caught up with the Girls Don't Sync star, Matty Chaibi, to find out her top beauty tips, tricks and secrets – from life-changing beauty splurges to affordable makeup must-haves, she spills all the tea... Beauty is skin deep because how you internalise yourself reflects on the outside. For a long time I thought it was only the physical but my 20s has been all about redefining what beauty actually is and I quickly learnt, particularly through my career in the arts, that it's not always what I'm wearing or what size I am and more about how I feel about myself internally. A balanced diet! My skin is the first thing to remind me of my poor food choices. If I've been working late, drinking lots, and ending the night with four wings and chips, my skin feels and looks gross the morning after. I'm always socialising or working late nights, but in more recent years, I have really tried to eat a balanced diet and stay hydrated (particularly during the week), and my skin has been thanking me for it. Do lash extensions count? I have to make up for the lack of hair on my head somehow, right? I love a hybrid set, I almost always have my lash extensions in because it adds a feminine touch and where I'm constantly filming or performing, it makes getting ready 10 times easier. Lashes done and no hair? That's my hack to getting ready in less than 20 minutes. When you're bald, every day feels like a wash day. No scalp routine is complete without moisturiser. After every wash, I have to use the Crème of Nature Creamy Oil Moisturising Hair Lotion. You can't have a crusty scalp! I go to this gorgeous salon in South London called my bedroom *laughs*. People are often shocked to find out that I shave my own head! When I first went bald, I would go to the barbershop up the road, but I quickly learnt that the barbershop is a safe space for men to be honest, open and have a laugh with each other! I don't need (or want) to put my two pence in about their relationship drama or 'offer a woman's perspective'. I could've tried a salon, but I'm such a DIY girl. Even when I had hair, I would do it myself, so I thought, you know what, clippers are £20 from Argos, how hard can it be? I gave it a go and it looked great, so whenever I need a haircut, I just do it myself. I'm like my very own mobile barber, it's fab! No brainer – Weleda Skin Food Nourishing Day Cream. No face cream has ever compared to this one for me. I'm quite picky with my face creams because a lot of the time I don't wear makeup, so I need the perfect face cream to make me feel radiant on no-makeup days. Weleda is my go-to lightweight, long-lasting moisturiser and super hydrating. I love it! From time to time, I really love splurging on the simple things. Why opt for a basic body wash when I can get the Space NK Caribbean Shores Body Wash (the horror of walking out of the shower and realising I'm not actually in the Caribbean). Why opt for a standard body cream when I can treat myself to the Fenty Skin Butta Drop Whipped Oil Body Cream (it will change your life). The NYX Pro Fix Stick Correcting Concealer is 10/10. I get mine in the colour Cocoa, which does a great job of hiding my dark circles and tricking everyone into thinking I'm not wearing any makeup. I especially love it in the summer because I wear less makeup in the heat and I like to show off the natural glow, so this product under the eyes is my go-to. Best £7.99 ever spent! Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from viral celebrity hair and makeup news to the latest trend predictions, she's an expert in recognising the season's next big beauty look (before it ends up all over your social media feeds). You'll usually find her putting TikTok's recent beauty hacks to the Hype Test, challenging the gender-makeup binary and social stereotypes, or fangirling over the time Kourtney Kardashian viewed her Instagram Story (yes, it's true). Find her also on LinkedIn.
