Beauty Amulets: Nadiah
During secondary school my mum briefly took on a housekeeping job for a family in Kensington. The lady who she worked for had an Elle and Vogue monthly subscription, she knew I loved both magazines and would give them to my mum as a present to me once she’d finished with them.
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In one of the many subscriptions that arrived, there was a complimentary limited edition Bobbie Brown & Annemarie Iverson makeup book called ‘ Bobbi Brown: Teenage Beauty- Everything you need to look pretty, Natural, Sexy and Awesome’ - which I still cherish to this day. I’ve been salivating over this book ever since I found it.
For a while I struggled with the shape of my lips and finding a berry/red shade that would show up and compliment my skin tone in a way that wasn't to too chalky, too bright or too dark. At the time I was growing up there were not many options for black skin apart from Mac (which I couldn’t afford just yet), drugstores, fashion fair, sleek and black hair shop. I tried every hair shop in South London just to be met with a limited selection that just didn't quite cut it.
At the time I was obsessed with vintage makeup specifically Barabara Haluninki’s signature Biba style, I wanted a glossy shade of deep berry that sat on the browner side which was subtle enough to to wear in the day and pigmented enough to build for night time. When I discovered Yves Saint Laurent Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain in 613 Cascade Bordeaux I finally arrived at my lip stain/ gloss Mecca.
To apply I like to start at the middle of the lip so it looks a bit like you’ve sucked an ice lolly, I then work the product with the triangular wand all over the lip without touching the lip line. Once the gloss dries the stain lasts all day its amazing!
I remember the first day I wore it was on the official press shoot for my first EP (Black EP), it was pretty special as it felt like a full circle moment in my life and new found career as an musician, I remember feeling regal, accomplished and confident. Flashbacks of those after school explorations, Magazine spreads, hours of sample try ons spiralled slowly like a film montage, cascading into what felt like a warm rush. It’s since become more that a lipgloss it became a lucky charm I like to wear occasionally for stage performances, I recall taking it in my hand luggage on my Australia, Russia and Berlin tour to ground me and remind me of that teenage girl sampling makeup at Selfridges with only a few coins in her pocket. She finally found her favourite shade and was living the reality she’d always dreamed of.
Words and Images: Nula