With the 62nd annual Grammy Awards just days away, country soul singer Yola is making her rounds. In the midst of a multi-city international tour, she made a stop in New York to perform on The Tonight Show With Starring Fallon. And while her performance was absolutely thrilling, her hair and makeup is what gave us chills.
With Jessica Smalls on makeup, and Ro Morgan on hair, she rocked her unapologetic brand of natural beauty with high impact. She admitted to ESSENCE that she’s a glam girl who loves big hair and a flawless finish foundation. This week the hair was indeed big and the makeup was grand and flawless.
“We went for a ‘Retro Galatic Glam’ look,” said Smalls. “Yola’s sound is very soulful and reminiscent of the 70’s. So I wanted to play off that. I gave her full thick brows, glowing chocolatey skin and an eye that shined out of this world.”
The smallest details on her gorgeous purple eyes could be seen from the cheap seats. Smalls used the PAT McGRATH Labs Mothership III Subversive Palette. And not to be outdone, her signature Afro took show-stopping to the next level, equipped with beautiful bejeweled clips.
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“For Yola’s hair look we were inspired by texture queens Erykah Badu and Solange Knowles,” Morgan told ESSENCE. “Yola is the Queen of Country Soul, so I wanted a look as strong and powerful as her voice. I’m obsessed with volume and texture and thank goodness, so is Yola.”
Yola has been nominated for four Grammy Awards including Best New Artist, Best Americana Album for Walk Through Fire, Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance for her single “Faraway Look.” We’ll be watching with our fingers crossed in hopes that she takes home a win, and checking out what hair and makeup she’ll be evoking that night.