Princess Nokia Shares The Beauty Routine That Keeps Her Looking Like A Goddess
Somewhere along the line in these adulthood streets, skincare became more of a lifestyle than a routine and the same is true for 27-year-old rap artist, Destiny Frasqueri, popularly known as Princess Nokia, who has a skincare routine fit for a goddess.
Voguerecently pulled up on the New York-based artist, who spilled all the details on the products she uses to get her issues with eczema and discoloration all the way together, and according to her, her beauty regimen is one that starts from the inside-out. In the video, she explained:
"The value of a woman is not based on her outward appearance. So if you've got acne, if you have got lines—girl, I got them too! Embrace your lines. Embrace the wrinkles. Embrace the discoloration, because what else are you going to do?"
Along with embracing what others may see as imperfections, the "Balenciaga" rapper says highlighting her natural freckles and incorporating coffee into her weekly self-care routine make her skin a winner every damn day. Scroll below to learn more!
Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing Soap ($24)
Vogue/YouTube
No matter what time this Puerto Rican Princess makes it in from a long night out, she never forgets to wash her face and her makeup remover of choice is Mario Badescu's Seaweed Cleansing Soap.
"A lot of people go to sleep with their makeup still on or halfway on are not taken off properly. And that is probably the biggest mistake you can make with skincare. So you always have to make sure that the dirt in your pores [is] properly removed. I don't care if I've been out till like seven in the morning, you best believe I'm taking this makeup off."
Aztec Secret Health, Clay Indian Healing ($6.99)
Vogue/YouTube
After using her Clarisonic facial brush and applying ice to de-puff, she creates a DIY mask using a spatula and an Aztec clay powder that and both she and Winnie Harlow swear by.
"Usually, when I wake up, I take ice and I de-puff my skin and I specifically go under my eyes and on my eyelids cause that's where I get puffy the most. I've got my Aztec face mask clay; this is for deep pore cleansing and then I use a paintbrush to distribute it."
Earth Therapeutics Hydrogel Collagen Under Eye Patch ($12.99)
Vogue/YouTube
"Honey, you're doing yourself a service. Collagen helps maintain and preserve the elasticity in your face. The more collagen, the better. There is such a thing as too much collagen. We won't get into that. Honey, you will catch me with these on a train, on a bus. I've been in first class with these on like, 'yes, I will have a wine'."
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Chamomile and Lavender ($7)
Vogue/YouTube
The artist also noted that Chamomile and Aloe have been perfect for getting her body eczema and discoloration all the way together:
"I suffer from severe skin discoloration and eczema, so my skin gets really patchy in the winter, especially on my body. I'm very lucky—thank Goddess and Beyoncé—that I haven't had it on my face."
Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe Herbs and Rosewater ($7)
Amazon
"The Rose helps make me feel delicious and juicy and fertile."
Home Facial Steamer ($20)
Vogue/YouTube
The at-home spa of your dreams could lie in a one-click purchase on Amazon. Just ask Princess Nokia, who says one of her favorites pastimes after a long week is steaming her face.
"All your stress, maybe all the bad foods that you've eaten during that week, it will all come out."
Café Bustelo ($11)
Vogue/YouTube
While drinking coffee may result in jitters, anxiety, and an upset stomach, it might just be the missing link to finally achieving the skincare routine of your dreams. The artist, who mixes it with water and jojoba oil to create the ultimate exfoliant, says that this skincare hack reminds her of home:
"If you're Caribbean or Puerto Rican, you probably know Cafe Bustelo really well. It's an espresso coffee and it's a really dark roast and your grandma probably makes it in the morning for you. And in my country, in Puerto Rico, it's considered a very neighborly thing to drop by people's homes and always offer or have a cup of coffee. So coffee is an integral part of the Caribbean and of the islands and of my culture and I take this into my routine."
For more hacks, watch the full video below!
Princess Nokia's Guide to Getting Goddess Skin | Beauty Secrets | Voguewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Instagram/@PrincessNokia.
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Taylor "Pretty" Honore is a spiritually centered and equally provocative rapper from Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a love for people and storytelling. You can probably find me planting herbs in your local community garden, blasting "Back That Thang Up" from my mini speaker. Let's get to know each other: @prettyhonore.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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“You’re shaming the ancestors by being ashamed of your hair.”
Intimidating words from a natural hair influencer I scrolled past on Instagram. They’re also a thought process I fully believed well into my late 20s – or so I thought.
My early years at Howard University didn’t agree with my lifestyle. My hair was big, but fine. Long, but not flexible. Workable, yet disobedient. Aside from not having time to bargain with mischievous curls ahead of 8 AM classes, the peer pressure was on another level. Howard girls have been known to carry themselves in the best-polished light. We’re changemakers in society, but trendsetters on the regular. It’s a vain, materialistic truth that I’m not ashamed to be proud of. So I questioned who was I to contradict a century-long stereotype?
Natural hair after keratin treatment Courtesy
For years, I fought against getting a perm. Health concerns aside, it just felt categorically “anti-black.” On the other hand, I was completely over my 4B hair and the disrespect it came with: constant frizz, never behaving, and never blending with my sew-ins. My frustration became a gateway into damaging habits. For a time, I got sew-ins and resorted to perming my leave out just to avoid the hassle. It was desperate (and embarrassing), but had to be done in order to withhold what an HU woman represented.
Moving to Los Angeles birthed an even more empowered version of myself. If you’ve ever been a Black woman living in LA, you know the standard of beauty is very monolithic. Ironically, the shared resentment we have from being mistreated based on misogyny is also what bonds us. Sometimes, it feels like wearing our type 4 hair loud and proud is a boisterous “F you” to society. Unfortunately, that pride comes with a lot of responsibility.
Keratin treatment
Courtesy
Black women have an unspoken duty to love themselves no matter what. We side-eye women who wear colored contacts. We categorize women who get BBLs. And people with nose jobs or Botox? Straight to jail. It felt impossible to find a safe place to be vulnerable about any of my physical insecurities. Let’s be real. How can you picture something nicknamed “creamy crack” being socially acceptable? Many will say, “it’s just hair.” But the conversation is bigger than that. Admitting I didn’t like one of the most obvious things that connected me to my culture was a painful reality to accept. I wasn’t allowed to feel or complain about it. I definitely wasn’t allowed to change it because I’d be “giving into the patriarchy’s standard of beauty,” meaning I didn’t love myself. So I forced myself to suffer through self-consciousness, afraid of displeasing MY people. That was until I heard about keratin treatments.
Applying keratin treatment
Courtesy
Keratin treatments hit the scene in a very dramatic way. Primarily by people warning consumers about the risks that come with it. Many people don’t acknowledge that keratin is a protein that the body produces naturally. The treatment uses a keratin-based product that produces straighter and/or smoother hair (results vary depending on thickness and length). The formula typically has little to no smell, and rather than getting washed out, like the perming process, it’s sealed in with heat using a blowdryer, followed by several passes with a flat iron.
Call it fate (or TikTok’s algorithm), but the hysteria around it was too intriguing to ignore. A treatment that reduces frizz, adds shine, and can loosen curls with reduced breakage as the cherry on top? It sounded like the hair gods were finally listening. I had to get one.
Monica Jones of Beauty by Monica took me into her chair and under her wing. Though she educated me on the misconceptions behind keratin treatments and brought awareness to formaldehyde chemicals, my only thoughts were, is this actually going to work for me? Is this cheating? Can I still call myself a natural hair girly? Then it hit me. Does any of that really matter?
Hair washed after applying keratin treatment
Courtesy
My hair is mine to do whatever I choose to do with it. Every crown is unique; no one’s is one size fits all. After the first keratin treatment, my confidence blossomed. Yes, partly because my curls were visibly a level looser and allowed more versatile styles. But also because I evolved as a woman. Every relationship changes as we grow, whether for better or worse. I choose to take control of my relationships including the one with my hair. We got to re-introduce ourselves to each other, allowing a clean slate with more patience and compromise.
I threw away the outside noise that made me question my blackness. Embracing my natural hair was considered “living in my truth,” but ironically, that wasn’t the case for me. I was lying to myself and did more harm mentally with the pressures I adopted. We already face challenges day-to-day that are out of our control. We need to be open-minded to people with basically no "c" hair getting braids because “Black people can’t own a hairstyle.” We have to support non-Black women getting surgery to create the physical attributes Black women naturally have and were once called “ugly” for. We’re to be understanding of people getting spray tans cosplaying as mixed race to be racially ambiguous.
Post Keratin treatment
Courtesy
Meanwhile, dark-skinned women are still getting blocked from certain nightclubs. For some reason, it’s socially acceptable for other ethnicities to not “live in their truth,” but not Black people. The short end of the stick is constantly handed to us by others with the expectation of just being grateful for an opportunity, acknowledgment, etc. If no one’s going to give us grace, we must grant it to ourselves.
There’s nothing shameful about wanting to change something about ourselves, whether it’s internal or external. Black women are the strongest people on this Earth. And while strength is found in acceptance, it also lives in vulnerability and our unapologetic pursuit of pleasing ourselves before anyone else.
Post Keratin treatment
Courtesy
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Feature image courtesy