Along with having a good chuckle, taking care of yourself is good for the soul. No one knows that better than Saturday Night Live’s Ego Nwodim. While tickling the funny bone is a priority for the 32-year-old comedian, praying, hanging out with her friends and spending time with her family take precedence. Those moments keep her grounded in her newfound stardom.
They’re also when she receives some of the best beauty advice, such as how to do her brows. “I used to pencil in my eyebrows super thick and squarish,” Nwodim recalls. “I look back at pictures and think, Why didn’t anybody tell me I looked crazy?! Then I remember my older brother used to joke about my eyebrows. I just thought he was being a hater—until a nail technician who was
doing my pedicure suggested I thin out my brows a little bit. At first I was like, Girl, why are you worried about my brows and not my toes? That’s when I realized my brother might have been trying to show me the light all along.”
Since entering the spotlight, Nwodim says she’s learned that less really is more. But don’t be confused: She still enjoys getting gussied up for a night out. Yet it’s her simple self-care rituals and the time she spends nurturing herself that make her feel the most beautiful.
Her regimen includes drinking lots of water, washing and moisturizing her face every morning and night, using sunscreen and proudly wearing her metal retainer. “Everyone’s definition of beauty is different, and it’s best to concern yourself with living up to your definition,” Nwodim notes. “There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who is comfortable being herself, done up or done down.” And when Black girls see the SNL performer on their television screen, she wants them to know more than anything that they’re gorgeous, and they belong.
EGO’S ESSENTIALS
