Jhené Aiko is having a great year in beauty. She recently teamed up with La Mer for their Blue Heart Oceans Fund which supports ocean conservation projects around the world. She’s also the global face of Kat Von D Beauty’s new True Portrait vegan foundation. And she’s making the best in beauty lists for red carpets around the globe. She recently held a meet and greet at SEPHORiA in Los Angeles just before fashion week frenzy began, where she proudly talked about the many ventures that she’s stepping into, and her own beauty journey.
“I am glad to be able to represent for women of color and especially with these brands. I’m super into skincare so I really appreciate when I find products that really work for me and that I can use consistently,” she told ESSENCE. “I’m just excited to do more and more because I feel like beauty comes from the inside, shines through on the outside. And I think that loving yourself really shows up on your skin.”
But the singer wasn’t always the uber confident flawless-faced beauty that we know today. She spilled the tea on how a young Jhené tried to deal with breakouts in what some might consider an unorthodox way. In her adolescent mind it was a smart approach to cover up pimples and still stay fly.
“I think I had my first breakout when I was in the sixth grade and I tried to cover it up with star stickers all over my face. And I would get in trouble by my math teacher who would tell me to take them off,” she said through a laugh. “Now I’m sure the kids are running around with tattoos on their face, so whatever. I forgive her. But from that point on I just started trying to find what works for my skin, for my breakouts.”
(Matthew Sperzel)
A gold sticker or a face crystal would certainly cover up a pimple and look cool, so her thinking wasn’t off. Perhaps she was ahead of her time with the beauty trend. But as she got older she began to get cystic acne, which not even Euphoria style metallic adornments and sparkly face gems could cover up.
So she had to find ways to deal with temperamental skin. And she soon learned like the rest of us that too much sugar and caffeine, and not enough water are a bad combo for keeping acne at bay. Of course products from La Mer are a big help these days. And foundation with a matte finish for her sometimes oily T-zone give her a covetable dewy appearance.
With a new music project in the works that she says includes a lot of healing type of pieces, and her recent campaigns spreading self love through beauty, she’s in a peaceful place and so is her skin. But she’s still triggered when she sees her fellow ladies participating in some beauty no-nos. She’s done away with the bizarre methods for now, and offers her simple advice on how to avoid breakouts.
“It’s been hot right now in LA, so with that daytime makeup, you’ve got to make sure you have your blotting papers on you. Because if you just let it sit and it gets oily, then that sits on your face, that’s going to turn into a bump. So I personally always have to have blotting paper,” she warned.
(Getty Images)
“And just for sure, wash your face. Wash that makeup off as soon as you can; it’s a big one. Because if you leave makeup on, like three days later you’ll have a big bump coming up.”