Here at The Cosmopolitan Black Beauty Hub, we don’t exactly gatekeep, so when we get the chance to quiz some of our favorite Black women about their 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 from our favorite star’s life in beauty, served hot.
This week, we caught up with TV presenter Maya Jama to find out what her get-up routine is ahead of the festive party season…
What’s your favorite part about getting ready?
Everyone is clicking…
Maybe music. Just as you’re settling into your chair and setting the tone for the night ahead, a good, solid playlist is definitely needed. I have two on Spotify that I go to all the time. One is called Two Stepper, which is like two stepper music, so house, soulful house, disco, that kind of vibe. And then the other one is just a personal vibe, and that’s a mixture of whatever! It will just depend on my mood.
Do you have any favorite drinks for this?
I’m a gin girl. I like to mix a bit of Gordon’s gin and tonic with cucumber.
And how do you prepare for the best turbocharged glow?
So, the whole preparation is that I will do sauna first. I have a small child at home. Now I keep telling girls, I think, it’s been a huge thing in my life, I use it probably twice a week. I don’t know if it’s the Swedish in me or not – we love saunas. When we were little my mother was obsessed and they would all go there (to Sweden) naked. Then after that take bath with cold water or cold face wash. I’ve been taking cold showers lately, but I can only do it for 30 seconds, you know, the kind of sharp blast at the end of a hot shower that wakes you up in the morning.
Do you enjoy creating your own glam or looking glam?
For work, I like to be glamorous because it takes one thing off my mind. I can read the script, or I can prepare for what I’m good at. And it’s like a kind of therapeutic moment when you talk to your girl in the morning. Everyone has a little gossip. I can focus on the task ahead, and then suddenly, you become another version of yourself. But when I’m out of work, I really enjoy doing my own makeup because it’s fun too. And I feel like my emotions vary from job to job. I feel like I’m more natural, glowing, effortless, but it takes a lot more effort.
If brightness was low, the display was somewhere between naturally dewy skin and full face glow. Who will win for you?
I’ll break down the middle, get dragged in either way, because it depends on the occasion, doesn’t it? If you want, let’s go on a picnic, I’ll be like a dewy, natural day. And then if you want, we are going to the club, so I would like, give me all the mascara, all the eyeliner. This month, the glowy, natural vibe is winning, and I’m wearing Rimmel Multi-Tasker Turbocharged Glow Loaded because it’s a little bronze and a little highlight.
Rimmel Multi-Tasker Turbocharged Glow
Memories of any previous makeup mishaps?
Yes, a lot! When I was in school I loved sticky mascara. You know when you overload your eyelids. And then I’d put a little bit of spit on the brush, and then go over it again to keep it alive, which is really bad. This is exactly what I did as a teenager…
You may have added good bacteria to it…
Maybe I’ll never get an eye infection again!
Favorite skin treatment?
Recently I have been taking polynucleotide treatment and I have seen really great results. This is the fastest results I have seen and it helps your skin without any hassle. So when you get it injected, it just keeps working, and your collagen builds. I adore him!
Do you have a wash day routine for your hair?
No, I wash my hair every couple of days, I don’t think I should do that with curly hair, but I blow dry it all the time. And then at work, there’s a lot of products and stuff coming in, and I feel like, if I don’t wash my hair often, the products go on my face, on the pillow.
Actually I should wear a bonnet, and I don’t. I do 10,000 sprays of hairspray in my hair every day and then it goes on my face when I sleep. If I’m at work, I wash it every two days, if I’m not at work, I might wash it up to a week. But my hair washing routine isn’t really anything spectacular, I use whatever I can get my hands on, so whatever shampoo and conditioner I have in my bathroom or someone else’s bathroom at the time.
What skin care/beauty tip can you not live without?
The face in the bowl of ice water, without fail, makes you look like you’ve, I don’t know, just been awake for more than a few hours. But I know everyone says that. I love the Shark CryoGlow LED Mask – it’s my favorite, and it has a cryotherapy element to numb my under eyes. And when I go for fancy facials, if I go to, say, Shane Cooper or anybody, he always ends up with a red light. So I think, wow, it’s great to be able to do this every day at home!
Any physical treatments you like?
I am getting regular lymphatic drainage massage for the first time. I had taken them before, but I had never taken them once a week or once every two weeks. All you see is that you wake up the next day and the swelling is gone and the water accumulation on your face has reduced even more. This is the perfect thing to do, because when I travel my ankles get swollen and stuff gets swollen too – I have to limp!
The cheapest beauty obsession?
I’ve literally had Rimmel’s liquid eyeliner since school. This has been my die hard product for my entire life. And I have flashbacks of me at school, sitting in the bathroom, like I’m learning how to make the perfect wing with it. And that was affordable with my school dinner money.
Rimmel Rimmel Exaggerated Liquid Eyeliner
And finally, what would your makeup bag never be the same without?
Rimmel Multi-Tasker Turbocharged Glow! Shade It’s Giving Bronze is great for darker skin tones and gives a radiant glow.
Kix Reed is the beauty director at Cosmopolitan UK. While she loves all things beauty, Kix has always been a hair fanatic. She began her career in beauty journalism as an editorial assistant at Blackhair and Hair magazines in 2013, and at the age of 23, worked her way up to acting editor of Blackhair magazine. He spent most of his career working in the trade hairdressing media at Hairdressers Journal, Salon International and the British Hairdressing Awards. That’s why she’s a regular contributor to Cosmo’s Curl Up franchise. Now, alongside her Cosmo work, she presents on social media, creates content and works with several beauty companies; From magazines and websites to beauty brands and salons.
<a href=