Beauty is power. And when that beauty is exotic to us, it can be unsettling, or captivating

Hair Stylist Cristal Han for Coco Cristal on Insagram
Model Sasen on Instagram

With this blog it’s always been my mission to be as inclusive as possible with my beauty subjects. Although getting the faces I shoot and do makeup on from a modelling agency can be contradictory, it’s also the best way to find people who want to genuinely be in front of the camera and who are willing to play with their image. To be a model, is to put yourself into the hands of people who will tweak your identity and who will chose a point of view on your beauty, on your face, on an aspect of you. In  these last few sessions, I’ve been becoming more and more aware of this dynamic.

The beauty portraits on my blog are always an exploration of my own ideas and visions of other people’s beauty. You can agree with them, you can find them inspiring, or you can disagree. Sometimes they line-up with the real-life person in front of the lens and sometimes they are just an image, an illustration. And no one person can be contained by the boundaries of pictures. All of this is about FUN!

Even though the Afro has a big visual impact, there is still enormous stigma left when it comes to natural African hair. Probably because it’s quite far from the reality of most white people. And different can be alluring–and it can be frightening.

To me the Afro, is so African. It’s so fun, and of course, It’s all because of blaxploitation movies of the seventies, and chiefly Pam Grier, who’s mane allure and stardom came in part from her Afro, making her instantly recognizable. Ironically, it became so loved by the public, that the Afro lost it’s rebel edge. But there is another twist… the Afro is not African–it’s a product of American culture. It goes back to the 60s Black Panther movement who sought to liberate black people from the trying to be “white”. Now that is the power of hair!

Top Row: Pam Grier as Foxy Brown. Bottom row, from left, Black Panther rally 1968. Kathleen Cleaver, professor of law, she was an important part of the movement.

WHITE PERSPECTIVE
As a white person, I have my own take on black beauty. At first, it was a bit cliché (Grace Jones anyone?). But every time I work with a different woman, I try to go beyond the collection of images I have in my mind. 

Base Makeup
Foundation and highlighting with Le fard crème by le Maquillage professionel,  palletes Peaux Africaines et Peaux Métisses.

african american beauty african american beauty Afro Afro Power anasatasia beverly hills Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture palette Bite Beauty black girl black girl beauty black girl magic black girl makeup Black Panther Chanel makeup deep skin makeup Dior Egyptian liner eritrean Fenty Beauty pam grier R’N’B makeup Stila