Here at The Cosmopolitan 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 TV presenter Maya Jama to find out exactly what her getting ready routine is ahead of festive party season…
What is your favourite part about getting ready?
Everyone’s clicking on…
Probably the music. Just like the vibe you create while you’re sat in your chair, and setting the tone for what the night out ahead is gonna be, definitely a good, strong playlist is needed. I’ve got two on Spotify that I always go to. One’s called Two Steppers, which is like two stepper music, so like house, soulful house, disco, that kind of vibe. And then the other one is just a personal vibe, and that’s just a mix of anything! It will just depend on my mood.
Do you have a drink of choice for that?
I’m a gin girly. I like a little Gordon’s Gin and Tonic mix with a cucumber.
And how do you prep for the best turbocharged glow?
So, the full prep is, I would do a sauna first. I’ve got a little one in my house. Now I keep telling the girlies, I’m like, this has been a really big thing in my life, I use it probably twice a week. I don’t know if it’s the Swedish in me – we love a sauna. My mum was obsessed when we were young and they all go in there naked [in Sweden]. Then after that, cold shower or cold face wash. I’m into my cold showers recently, but I can only do it for like, 30 seconds, you know, at the end of a warm shower a quick blast wakes up you in the morning.
Do you enjoy doing your own glam or getting glammed?
For work, I love getting glammed because it takes one thing off my mind. I can read scripts, or I can prepare for what I’m doing well. And it’s kind of like a therapeutic moment of you have your girl chat in the morning. Everyone has a little gossip. I can focus on work ahead, and then all of a sudden, you’re just this other version of yourself. But when I’m off work, I do really enjoy doing my own makeup, because that also is fun. And I feel like I’m different vibes off work to on work. I feel like I’m more natural, glowy, effortless, but there’s a lot of effort in it.
If there was a glow down, the showdown between naturally dewy skin and a full face beat. Which one would win for you?
I’d be torn in the middle, getting dragged either way, because it depends on the occasion, doesn’t it? If you’re like, Come, let’s go for a picnic, then I’d be like, dewy, natural daytime. And then if you’re like, we’re going to the club, I’d be like, give me all the mascara, all the eyeliner. This month, the glowy, natural vibe has been winning, and I’ve been wearing the Rimmel Multi-Tasker Turbocharged Glow loads because it’s a bit of bronze and bit of highlight.
Rimmel Multi-Tasker Turbocharged Glow
Any past makeup mishap memories?
Yeah, loads! I used to like really clumpy mascara when I was in school. You know when you just overload your lashes. And then I would put a bit of spit on the on the brush, and then go again to keep it alive, which is really bad. That is genuinely what I did as a teenager…
Maybe you added good bacteria in…
Maybe I’ll never get an eye infection ever again!
Favourite skin treatments?
Recently I’ve been getting polynucleotide treatments and I’ve actually seen really, really good results. It’s the quickest result I’ve seen and it helps your skin without you having to keep getting it. So after you get it injected, it just keeps working, and your collagen builds. I’m a fan of that!
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Do you have a wash day routine for your hair?
No, I wash my hair like every two days, which I don’t think I should be doing with curly hair, but I blow dry it all the time. And then at work, it’s getting loads of products and stuff, and I feel like, if I don’t wash my hair often, the products go on my face, on the pillow.
I should wear a bonnet, actually, and I don’t. I have like, 10,000 sprays of hairspray in my hair every day, and then that gets rubbed into my face when I sleep. If I’m at work, I wash it every two days, if I’m not at work, I could go a week. But my hair wash routine isn’t really anything spectacular, I use whatever I can grab, so whatever shampoo and conditioner is in my bathroom or someone else’s bathroom at that time.
Hoda Davaine
What skincare/beauty tip could you not live without?
Face in a bowl of ice water, without fail, just makes you look like you’ve, I don’t know, just been up for a couple more hours than you have. But I know everyone says that. I love the Shark Cryoglow LED Mask – it’s my favourite, and that’s got the cryotherapy element to numb under my eyes. And when I go for a fancy facial, if I go to, say, Shane Cooper or someone, he always ends with red light. So I’m like, wow, being able to do this every day at home is great!
Any body treatments that you love?
I’ve been getting lymphatic drainage massages regular for the first time ever. I’d had them before, but I’d never had one as often as once a week or once every two weeks. You just notice you wake up the next day and the bloat is gone and your face has even less water retention. It’s the perfect thing to do, because I get swollen ankles and stuff when I travel – gotta get lymped!
Cheapest beauty obsession?
The liquid eyeliner from Rimmel I’ve literally had since school. It’s been my Die Hard product for like, my whole life. And I just have flashbacks of me sitting in the bathroom, in school, like learning how to do the perfect wing with it. And that was affordable with my school dinner money.
Rimmel Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner
And lastly, your makeup bag wouldn’t be the same without?
The Rimmel Multi-Tasker Turbocharged Glow! The shade It’s Giving Bronze is good for darker skin tones and just gives illuminating glow.
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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.
