When Andrea Lewis sets her sights on a story, she doesn’t just create content—she builds community. The actress, producer, and filmmaker behind The Black Beauty Effect, now streaming on Netflix, is back with another groundbreaking project: GlamCulture.
This new series is a travel-meets-beauty docu-series premiering on her YouTube channel. The first episode, “The GlamCulture of NYC,” is kicking off a four-city exploration that celebrates beauty, identity, and self-expression through cultural lenses.
This passion project—created, produced, and independently financed by Lewis and her team—is what she proudly calls #indierealityTV. The series spotlights the intersection of culture and glam in four cities—New York, Toronto, New Orleans, and Los Angeles—each chosen for its distinct creative heartbeat.
“I’ve always been a beauty girl,” Lewis tells ESSENCE. “After The Black Beauty Effect, I found myself surrounded by beauty pros, editors, and influencers all the time. I started to realize that beauty looks different depending on where you are—and that cultural perspective needed a platform,” she says. “I wanted to show how glam connects us, how it’s celebrated differently in every city, and how it reflects who we are.”
For Lewis, GlamCulture is as much about discovery as it is about documentation. “In New York, diversity informs creativity,” she explains. “Every person you meet brings a different background, story, and energy. In Toronto, it’s about heritage—how the immigrant experience shapes your beauty rituals. In New Orleans, it’s spirit and soul. The glam there is joyful, expressive, and deeply tied to identity. And in L.A., I wanted to peel back the Hollywood lens and show the real culture—the creatives, the neighborhoods, the roots.”
Each episode takes viewers onto a journey of interviews with stylists, influencers, and beauty pros who reflect on the beauty of their cities. In the first episode, in New York, Lewis connects with celebrity hairstylist Lacy Redway, who’s also a SheaMoisture ambassador.
“SheaMoisture understood exactly what I was doing,” says Lewis. “They’ve always been a brand that celebrates the glam girl—the one who shows up fully as herself. Their support from the start meant everything. It wasn’t just a logo placement; it was a true collaboration.”
As for the production itself, GlamCulture is proof that independent storytelling can be both intimate and impactful. “There’s so much conversation right now about DEI and diverse storytelling being scaled back,” Lewis says. “I didn’t want to shrink the story. I wanted to tell it through my lens as a Black woman, authentically and unapologetically. The independent route gave me that freedom.”
That authenticity is evident in every frame. From Carnival prep in Toronto to ESSENCE Fest glam in New Orleans, Lewis captures moments that feel lived-in and celebratory—moments that honor how Black and brown communities have shaped global beauty culture.
“I want people to walk away from GlamCulture thinking about their own beauty routines and traditions,” Lewis says. “Ask yourself: what’s the glam culture of your city? What’s your personal glam culture? We all have one. Glam is universal—it’s just expressed differently depending on who you are and where you come from.”
With the first episode now live, GlamCulture invites viewers to travel, reflect, and rediscover the meaning of beauty in every corner of the world—one city, one story, and one flawless beat at a time.
Catch ‘GlamCulture’ now on Andrea Lewis’s YouTube channel.