As we count down to the 2016 ESSENCE Festival, June 30-July 3 in New Orleans, artists and speakers from our power-packed lineup will reveal how they step up their slay game in beauty and style. This week we have current ESSENCE cover girl Andra Day, who will be bringing the retro-soul sounds from her Grammy-nominated debut Cheers to the Fall to this year’s Festival.
1. Shea butter. “I had a good friend of mine turn me on to shea butter, and I use it on my skin, I use it in my hair. It keeps my skin soft and keeps it looking young. At night, I’ll wash my face and if I exfoliate, then I’ll take shea butter, warm it up in my hands and I’ll put it on my face before I go to sleep. I have very acne-prone skin, and shea butter actually helps to keep [acne] at bay because it keeps my skin moisturized so it doesn’t have to work overtime to produce oil. ”
Andra Day: ‘No Hateration or Holleration’ at Empowering ESSENCE Fest
2. Red lipstick. “The one that I’m in love with right now is called Spicy by Anastasia. It’s a liquid lipstick. I’m obsessed. Now stick lipsticks are so hard to use. But liquid lipsticks are amazing. They dry and matte, and they stay on pretty much all day.”
3. Black gel eyeliner. “I prefer Clinique. It stays on all day, and it’s not waterproof so I don’t have to scrub too hard to get it off.”
Get your glam on at ESSENCE Festival’s New Beauty & Style Expo!
4. Broaches. “I’m very obsessive about broaches. I put broaches on the lapels of coats, I put them on dresses. I actually take broaches and bobby-pin them all throughout my hair too. There’s this company called Lucrezia [with] vintage broaches, which basically look like little galaxies, so I collect those pieces.”
5. Pajama sets. “I mean, boudoir-style silk or satin pajama sets, pajama suits like men used to wear in the ’50s and early ’60s. I’ve been wearing them all on tour, and everybody thought I was so crazy. But actually there are pajama sets all over the place now. I’m really loving that they’re coming back because I can pick up a bunch!”
Buy your tickets to the 2016 ESSENCE Festival now!
And register for the Festival’s first—and FREE—Beauty & Style Expo! #essencebeauty #essencebeautybox