Color Me Bad
Follow @officebeautynyc for more interviews with our favorite makeup artists, Instagram beauty gurus, club kids and inside info from our office Beauty Committee.
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Follow @officebeautynyc for more interviews with our favorite makeup artists, Instagram beauty gurus, club kids and inside info from our office Beauty Committee.
The thing about hair is that it always has this confounding question: What else can I do? Cornrows lead into box braids, which lead into a big chop or finger waves, and if you've ever seen a Hype Hair magazine — the list can go on and on. The wonderland of all things hair is a love that leads in the black community. We can all inherently share the same experiences and appreciation for twelve-hour knotless braids and the step-by-step process of wig installments. Malcolm Robinson is an artist of color that— without even trying, hones in everything that we adore about hair all into one. Since we know what's going on around the exterior of Marquez's head— let's dive deeper into his process and the interior of his perspectives. With a cute interview, Malcolm answers the questions we want to know. He also gives us a little peek into his polaroids. 'Wanna see? Keep reading.
This question is pretty simple. What is your life's mantra?
It's different every day depending on what my mind needs, but one that does repeat is, "go get what's yours."
At what age did hair become a staple in your identity?
I would say around 14. Like most teenagers, I was obsessed with changing my hair. It was a way for me to learn about myself. Hair has such a strong power to transform your mood or mindset that I tapped into early. I also found the practice of doing my hair to be meditative. It felt like a form of protection. It started as a self-exploration that as I learned, I wanted to share those same feelings with the people around me. That turned into me doing all my friends' hair and now it’s my life. It never really felt like work.
Do you remember the first hairstyle you ever did for yourself or for a client that was like — “this is it!"
As a professional, I would say that Tinashe’s Songs For You album cover was a big aha moment for me. As simple as the look was, there was a clear intention behind the shape. I was always attracted to hairstyles that break the rules a little. Blunt ends, different lengths, and looks that are slightly impractical. At the same time, it’s a reference to classic looks we have seen from artists like Lisa Left Eye and Janet, who eternally inspire. That look felt like a full activation of all those elements while giving a fresh timeless shape that Tinashe could own.
For BIPOC communities, hair has never been just hair. It details back to so many different accounts of oppression and opened windows of self-expression. How do you tie in culture within your art?
To be honest, I don’t feel like I am doing that consciously— it just happens! As a black hair artist, if I am putting down a blonde lace wig or a full head of braid, it is inherently a piece of culture. Being conscious of who I am and what I’m creating contributes to culture. It’s also important to be aware of those who came before you. Black hair is so dynamic because of how many different ways we have used hair as both expression and survival.
What is it like creating looks for so many clients who have different visions?
I love it. For me, it is about celebrating that individuality. When working with another artist, my goal isn’t to do anything more than help elevate and inspire a fresh look. It’s important to me that they still feel like themselves. What I appreciate about beauty is that — there is not a one size fits all look. It is individuality over everything. Always a collaboration of what’s feeding us both creatively.
I enjoy the creativity that Steve Lacy and yourself have in the braided hairstyles. What is the process behind those looks?
Thank you! Steve and I had wanted to put a look together for a while. Something about him playing with Erykah Badu felt like the right time to finally link up. We agreed that we needed an Afrofuturism moment. The spiral silhouette was inspired by a head crest sculpture that had towering spirals coming out of the head. Steve wears braids so well that it felt like the obvious choice to use braids as the foundation of the look. My hair bestie Fitch Lunar helped me construct the look. 100% favorite braid look I’ve done.
If you could work with anyone and give them a look of your choosing — from simple to avant-garde, who would it be and what?
I’d give Sade her signature braid.
What has been the craziest look you’ve done so far?
I made a sculptural piece for Symone during quarantine and, that was a moment. I recreated a look by Mathu Andersen originally worn by Ru Paul in the “Back To Your Roots” video. I had been spending lockdown hopping around Arizona, making pieces in Airbnbs, and shipping them to clients. When she requested the look, I had never met her and didn’t know it was about to be on Drag Race. The process of creating that piece influenced me creatively and happened under some crazy circumstances. It was even more rewarding to watch her win the whole season representing black beauty so proudly.
Are there any goals that you’re trying to achieve in this year of 2022?
2021 was already more fruitful than I could have imagined. It’s rebuilt my trust in divine timing and to not overthink what has happened each calendar year. It has taught me to be mindful of the journey. My only real goal is to continue to grow as an artist and a person.
As an emerging Gen-Z beauty artist with a growing social media following, Tisdale has faced her ups and downs with her artwork and its online presence. She primarily shares her work on Instagram, where her followers can engage with her and her art through posts, livestreams, and reels. While this digital existence has connected her to a community of beauty artists and makeup fanatics, it also can make her the target of internet hate and cyberbullies. In spite of the negative criticism, Tisdale has made it clear to her fans and foes that the only person’s approval she is interested in is her own. Her motivations for her work are not predicated on likes, comments, or shares, but rather the self-fulfillment she feels when creating art on her personal canvas— her face.
office caught up with Tisdale to discuss her viral 'cakeface' series from this past year, her relationship with social media, her artistic inspirations, and more.
Check out the interview below.
Tell me a little about yourself. How did you end up in beauty and fashion?
I feel like I always start with saying that it was very accidental. I've always been very involved in the arts. I went to a performance art camp for 10 years— painting, singing, dancing, pretty much everything that you could imagine. But having a career in the arts was like purely accidental. Because I started really getting into makeup as a form of art, and that being my main medium when the pandemic started. So I had way too much free time on my hands. I feel like a lot of other people might have had a lot of free time on their hands, especially when we went right into quarantine, coming from university and then going straight into quarantine. And I just was experimenting, trying different things, posting different things, and just kind of exploring and growing my skill set in makeup. And that's how I kind of came at the point where I'm at now, where it's kind of my main thing. It was definitely very accidental. But it's been very fun.
I love all your make-up designs— they’re so bold and innovative! Where does the inspiration come from for your artwork?
I pretty much feel like I can get inspired by anything. It could be food, it could be a couple of colors that I really like together. It could be a flower or an animal— I try not to limit myself to just one niche of things. One, because it's not fair to myself to kind of limit myself, but also because I'm always trying to push myself outside of my comfort zone. So taking inspiration from things that maybe you wouldn't expect to get inspiration from— that's something that I try to really do, just pull inspiration from the world around me.
Your ‘cakeface’ series was a huge hit this past year! Can you talk a bit more about the origins of this look?
So it was two things. One was flipping cake face, because I remember in high school, I didn't really wear makeup, and other people would. And sometimes people would be really mean to them about the amount of makeup they were wearing, using the term, 'cake face.' And I was like, 'That's really mean. Why is that a bad thing, if someone wants to wear makeup? Why are we making this a meme, when it could be really cool?' I wish when I was in high school I was trying the stuff that the other girlies were doing. But that was one thing: just flipping something that I grew up hearing that was very, very negative and very mean and meant to degrade other people, and turning it into something that's very creative— not even necessarily positive, but just interesting and intriguing and bright and colorful and just kind of whimsical.
Then the other thing is, last year or two years ago, I just started getting all these little bakeries on my (Instagram) Explore page. Do you know what I'm talking about? The little cakes, like tiny little cakes, that have a ton of frosting on them. And it's all very intricate. There's so many different little bakeries that are making these tiny little specialty cakes. And I was like, "Hmm, that'd be really cool if you just put that on your face somewhere." And that's where it really came from. So it was a combination of those two ideas.
Social media has been an important way to share your work and connect with fans of your art. How do you feel about your relationship with the internet?
I think the one thing about the internet is sometimes you think it's a battle with the internet, but it's really just how you, yourself, view the internet. It's not you versus the internet— it's you versus what you feel about the internet. I've definitely gotten better at this, but there was a point in time where I was just like, 'If I don't get enough likes on a post, then that means that my work wasn't good, and everybody hates it, and I need to take it down.' But that's just not the case. Because at the end of the day, did I like it? Did I think that it was good? Did I think that it was that it was a good piece of art that I made or a good makeup look that I did? My negative relationship I had with my thoughts about the internet and my thoughts about how my work was being consumed by other people forced me to change my mindset about my own work. The reason why I started posting on Instagram wasn't for other people. And it wasn't for likes, and it wasn't for attention. It was because I was exploring something, and trying something new, and wanting to get better at something that I was interested in, and just having fun. So my big thing that I've learned is the minute you feel like it's not fun anymore is when you need to reevaluate that relationship you have with what you think the internet is. So yeah, I mean, it's been ups and downs, but at this point in my Instagram career, I just kind of am like, 'I'm gonna post when I want!' Cause it's my like 'internet diary.' Like, it's my little documentary. So if I want to jot something down, I'm gonna jot it down. So being in the position I'm in has made me analyze my relationship with the internet and the internet itself much more closely because it's now become such a big part of my life because it's my job.
How do you think makeup can be used as a tool of empowerment?
I mean, you can do so much with it. Beyond just like, you know, eye shadow and your typical, everyday face— you can do so much with it in terms of transformation and bending the rules and breaking the rules and things like that. You kind of have to feel powerful when you have so many capacities and capabilities in your own hands, and can take that and use it to— not even to impress other people, but impress yourself. It doesn't matter if you're someone who's doing special effects or prosthetics, or if you're just doing a shimmery eyeshadow— there are just so many possibilities when it comes to makeup, and when it comes to using different products and such that the power is really in your hands, regardless of what it is you're trying to create. And I think that that's really cool.
Who are some of your style icons?
I look to a lot of my friends for inspiration and just the way they carry themselves like not even necessarily with makeup. Some of them are more on the makeup side, some of them are more in fashion and stuff like that, but the way that they carry themselves is so iconic. Like my friend Kimasa (she's @bby.plantain), @okaysophi, @sweetmutuals, @pradaolic— all of these people have totally honed all of their crafts. And the way they carry themselves is just so inspiring because they're just like, 'I'm going to do what I want to do, and I'm going to look good when I do it. And that's what you're getting for me, and this is what I have to give, and you can take it, but regardless, it's for me anyway, so who cares?' Those are the kind of energies I really look up to because it can be really easy to fall into the trap of the Internet where you feel like you have to perform for a crowd, when at the end of the day, you should just be doing this for you. When you're producing work that makes you happy, and makes you feel good about yourself— that's the best part of it.
Name one beauty product you can’t leave the house without.
I'm honestly gonna say like, a good lip gloss. I like the NYX Cosmetics Butter Gloss.
What’s next for you in your journey and your art?
I'm very excited to graduate, first and foremost. My next big thing is— obviously fingers crossed because I really don't want to jinx it, but I've already spoken it into the air, so I'm gonna say it— my partner and I are moving to New York. He graduated MassArt last year with a BFA in fashion design, and he's just been waiting for me to finish up school, so we can move. I'm very excited to move to New York because I've lived in Boston my whole life, and it's kind of hard to find jobs that have anything to do that I do right now in Boston. And I feel like I love New York. I used to hate New York, but I love New York now. Just because I was scared of the trains. But now I know how to take the train to New York, so I'm fine with it. But I'm excited to move to New York. That is the next thing, just to see where things go.
Products ranging from their 'extra strength body cream' (infused with 500 mg of CBD), and their popular gentle face scrub, 'juice shot,' all allow for new opportunities of lanes not discovered — holistic luxury. 'The Feelist' becomes transformative with its name as the silkiest creams and softest oils cling onto your skin allowing hydration to enter its' deepest barries.
In Beauty, transparency has become more of a ringing issue as there is a zero-tolerance policy for additives, harm to animals that occupy the earth, and the protection of mother nature has become ubiquitous in every conversation surrounding the industry. This collection is beautiful products you can trust, 'The Feelist' has sourced the highest grade ingredients from agricultural leaders with epochs of knowledge and experience in consumable and sustainable farming while also being certified by rigorous in-house and third-party testing.
Below, office sat down with Founder and CEOr, Shea Marie to discuss The Feelist
Who did you create this line of clean and natural products for? Please describe the everyday consumer.
When we launched The Feelist, we felt like the market was missing a clean, vegan, cruelty free, nontoxic skincare brand that looked as chic and luxurious as top shelf brands, while still remaining affordable to everyone. You should not have to sacrifice aesthetics or efficacy for price. Our Total Package Youth Protecting Concentrate serum that just launched is comparable (and even better) to $300 serums, however, our retail price is only $68. The chic minimalist branding has been a hit on social media and has offered a fresh and clean alternative to the millennial pinks and baby blues that dominated the space the past several years. The branding is appealing to all demographics, and both men and women.
What makes you most excited about your line?
The most exciting thing is how much people love the products and how The Feelist is changing people’s skin. I’m really involved in every step of the process - the formulation, what ingredients I don’t want to use, and making sure the end result is super clean. So, when I hear from people that they never thought their skin could look this good, or that they look forward to using our products to relax after a long day, it truly makes all the hard work worth it.
What was your process like working with CBD?
When we first started working on this project nearly 4 years ago, we thought CBD would be in a very different place by now. But it’s been and still is a legal and regulatory rollercoaster.
The Feelist is above all a beautiful conscious plant powered line of skincare and bodycare products. We believe in the power of mother nature and botanicals. CBD was one of the first superpowered botanicals we started working with because I personally loved it and believed in it so much, but it was never the end goal to just sell CBD products. CBD is an incredible ingredient in skincare - it’s anti-inflammatory and it helps a wide range of skin conditions, but people use CBD as a buzzword to sell products. For us CBD is an ingredient and not a marketing tool, in the same way that having clean vegan and cruelty free products is not a buzz word or a marketing tool.