Andrea Lewis Shares Expertise In ‘The Black Magnificence Impact’

You could know Andrea Lewis because the youthful magnificence Hazel Aden in Degrassi: The Subsequent Era or Carla from Disney Channel’s Cadet Kelly, however the actress and filmmaker’s first magnificence reminiscence was when she was a pre-teen forged as younger Natalie Cole in Livin’ for Love: The Natalie Cole Story. Whereas Lewis was accustomed to both her mom or herself doing her personal hair, the then-13-year-old actress was launched to a hairstylist for the primary time whereas on set.

“I keep in mind it was a white hair stylist and he was like, ‘I’ve bought this gel, I’ve bought that gel, I bought this gel,’ and he was attempting his finest,” Lewis recounted. “These had been merchandise I hadn’t essentially seen earlier than. I didn’t suppose that Black hair was like a one-phrase catch-all kind of factor that you can simply use one kind of gel and it simply does everyone’s hair.”

Comcast And Faceforward Productions Bring Docuseries, ‘The Black Beauty Effect’ to Xfinity

From then on, younger Lewis turned observant of the illustration and visibility of Black ladies within the make-up and styling chair from the quantity of warmth utilized to her tresses to the blush they used on her pores and skin. Admiring the simplicity and easy fantastic thing about her mom and grandmother, who would sometimes use “a pink lipstick right here or a pink lipstick there,” the actress needed to proceed to focus on the multi hyphenation of magnificence throughout the board of Black ladies of various shades ranges and hues.

“After I was a teen, I paid a lot consideration to any brown face I noticed on tv, whether or not it was Beyonce, Tia and Tamera, or Naomi Campbell. I all the time was like, ‘How can I appear like that?,’ no matter it was. If their pores and skin was tremendous shiny, if they simply look shiny and exquisite, I’m like, ‘How can I appear like that?’ These are key magnificence moments after I take into consideration how magnificence was launched to me.”

This time round, Lewis is taking over the media business from the director’s chair and reclaiming the narrative of Black ladies on the planet of magnificence. Cue up The Black Beauty Effect — a 3-part docuseries with an hour-long episode every that dissects the evolution, revolution, and disruption of the sweetness business. Government produced by Kahlana Barfield-Brown, Jackie Aina, Keesha Boyd, and Emmy nominee CJ Faison, the sequence focuses on three key elements of magnificence – make-up, hair, and pores and skin – because it options candid conversations and experience from magnificence editors, celeb make-up artists, and model executives in regards to the business’s notion of magnificence.

We caught up with Lewis to debate the inspiration behind The Black Magnificence Impact, the significance of uplifting Black editors and influencers, and the way being a toddler actress introduced her behind the scenes.

This interview has been calmly edited for readability. 

HB: What was the preliminary inspiration behind The Black Magnificence Impact?

Andrea Lewis: I feel my profession has introduced me to in all probability essentially the most distinctive house that allowed me to be the form of individual to inform this story, to even have an interest on this story. As a result of I grew up on tv, I’ve been a make-up chair since I used to be just a little lady. I’ve seen the nice, the dangerous, and the ugly of the make-up hair room by way of working with individuals who know your pores and skin, working with individuals who don’t, working with individuals who know your hair, and dealing with individuals who don’t. I’ve seen all of it. I’ve discovered all of the methods to guard myself by way of bringing my set bag, and I’m having my hair already ready.

On the similar time, I too was only a common younger lady observing social media, observing widespread media with magazines and tv, actually consuming these things, and looking for ladies that I assumed had been consultant of me, to search for inspiration to be like, ‘Oh, I can appear like this individual.’ I by no means felt like there was something that actually celebrated us or actually confirmed that a part of the story. Sure, magnificence is that this actually widespread factor, however no person’s speaking in regards to the Black greenback and the way highly effective we’re, the Black client. No one’s speaking about all these make-up artists that encourage this look, they’re not giving us the credit score.

I had this in my head for years. I’m on this particular seat as an individual who will get to be in entrance of the digicam, behind the digicam, on the digital panorama – I get to see all of it. I do know that Black magnificence is the inspiration. I do know that we’re the dominant pressure, however I’m not seeing anyone actually spotlight that finish of our story. After I would see tales about Black magnificence, it was extra so from the angle of ‘we’ve been handled like we’re ugly, and no person likes this, and we’re not the sweetness customary.’ Sure, there are unfavourable components to our story, however that’s not the tip of it. That’s not all of our tales. What I really like about The Black Magnificence Impact is that that’s what we targeted on: who had been the sport changers? Who had been the individuals making a distinction regardless of what widespread media was attempting to do or regardless of these locations that perhaps we didn’t essentially slot in however we had been figuring it out? That’s only a dream come true for me.

HB: How did you go about choosing the forged of Black ladies who you needed to focus on and have in The Black Magnificence Impact?

AL: It was such an attention-grabbing course of as a result of, once more, I’m a fan of Black Magnificence, I’m a fan of house. I’ve been following and observing make-up artists [and] Black Magnificence editors for years. I like to see their life. I knew that after we had been beginning that there have been sure key gamers that you simply wanted to have concerned on this undertaking to essentially guarantee that it advised the precise story. Jackie Aina was the primary person who I had approached to say, ‘Hey, I’m doing this factor, would you have an interest?,’ and he or she was like, ‘Yeah, lady, inform me extra. What is that this?’ I used to be so happy and impressed as a result of in case you are a Black lady that’s on-line taking note of something social media-wise with magnificence, Jackie Aina is that lady. She is the one, she is the information for all of the Black magnificence influencers. For her to present me that stamp of approval straight away was superb.

Kahlana Barfield-Brown, who can also be one in all our EPs, is a Black magnificence editor that everyone is aware of within the house that has carried out such superb work. She has all the relationships [and] individuals respect Kahlana in such a good looking means. She says this about herself, however I’d additionally say it about her – she is a Black lady’s Black lady. She actually helps Black ladies as a lot as attainable. You noticed that with even how she got here on board with our undertaking and her and I having conversations about Elaine Welteroth, Mikki Taylor, Julee Wilson. These had been names I already knew we would have liked and had written down and Kahlana got here and confirmed it for me. It moved actually shortly, and we bought such unimaginable expertise connected: Mikki Taylor, Lisa Value, Desiree Rogers, Maya Allen. I’ve been very appreciative of our expertise total.

HB: What had been a few of your private takeaways from The Black Magnificence Impact?

AL: ​I all the time knew that we belonged in these areas and that we deserve this type of story. To see our expertise sit down within the chair and be so excited to inform us a narrative about their lives as a result of individuals don’t typically ask them about these components of their careers. Amber Riley even stated that to me straight away, and he or she was simply honored to have the ability to talk about it. Mikki Taylor in all probability stated the factor that actually resonated with me essentially the most. She was like, ‘We’ve by no means been attempting to assimilate Black individuals, Black ladies. We’ve all the time simply tried to appear like ourselves.’ In terms of the sweetness house, particularly the Black magnificence house, oftentimes we’re advised that we’ve got to assimilate, or individuals attempt to act like we wish to, as if white magnificence is the factor that we’re all attempting to achieve for, and I’ve by no means felt like that.

I all the time simply needed to appear like myself. The one those that ever impressed me had been different Black ladies. To listen to Mikki say that in our interview, that that is one thing she is aware of and has all the time recognized, I used to be like, ‘That’s the language. These are the phrases that I wanted and didn’t have. That’s the sensation that I’ve all the time had.’ I had a really confirming expertise throughout our filming. It was like the entire thing actually confirmed for me simply how necessary not solely Black tales are however particularly Black ladies’s tales advised by Black ladies. This actually confirms my place as a filmmaker and a artistic.

HB: How has your expertise on-camera afforded you the chance to have a special lens whereas working behind the digicam?

AL: I now suppose I’ve actually turn into a producer-actor. I discover myself the entire time, even after I’m on digicam, I’m listening as if I’m a producer. The entire time I’m attempting to be one step forward. I want I may chill out, [but] I simply can’t. I discover that after I’m on set, I’ve loads of gratitude, and I strive my finest to suppose extra in regards to the total story and never simply my place in issues. I feel that’s simply my producer mind as a result of I’ve been on the opposite finish of issues and know all of the transferring components and the way exhausting it may be and simply all of the issues that you simply’ve bought to do. Now that I get to be going forwards and backwards, I discover that it’s made me a greater artist. I’m grateful that I’ve been allotted these alternatives and that I’ve been in a position to develop on this course of, not solely as a producer but in addition simply basically as an entertainer.

It’s like a full-circle diagram for me. All of this stuff wanted to occur for us to get the place we’re proper now. To have the ability to current The Black Magnificence Impact, we would have liked Black magnificence editors. We wanted the Black celeb make-up artists who had been the one Black face within the room and behind the scenes doing what they had been doing. We wanted Black influencers. We wanted all of this stuff to do that full circle to ensure that us to get to this place now the place we will all actually acknowledge Black magnificence on the next stage, the place we will aspire to appear like ourselves. It’s necessary to notice the historical past, the current second, and the place we’re going. All of this stuff matter. It wasn’t one over the opposite. It’s not simply the influencer, it’s not simply the editor, it’s not simply the make-up artist. All of them needed to work collectively.

HB: Once you hear the time period “Black is gorgeous,” how has the interpretation advanced through the years?

AL: I consider self-love instantly. Black is gorgeous to me is the variety of blackness. Greater than something, that saying is admittedly about accepting ourselves totally. There’s been a lot that we’ve needed to unlearn and unpack as Black individuals as a result of Eurocentric magnificence requirements have been put onto us so intensely that for some individuals. Even in the present day, in 2022, it’s difficult for them to say Black is gorgeous. It’s difficult for them to know what they actually imply once they say that, to simply accept their hair the best way it’s, shrinkage and all, frizz and all, to essentially be like, I really like myself totally, I like my complexion, I like all of the issues, I like my options.

To me, Black is gorgeous [is] with the ability to say that very confidently. I feel it’s advanced through the years as a result of if you actually began with that, it was extra so the Civil Rights period, the ’60s you began. That was when the Black Energy motion began to occur, and it was related to Afros and that revolution. Once we say Black is gorgeous, I feel we actually imply the variety of blackness. I feel we wish to see a number of types of blackness. We wish to see each complexion and each hair kind, and we wish to have fun all of them equally. There’s not this like, ‘That’s good hair, or that’s the precise complexion.’ All of our hair is sweet hair. All of our complexions are stunning. We’re not attempting to be on this group or that group. We would like all of it to essentially imply what we are saying.

Watch the trailer beneath:

The Black Magnificence Impact premiered November 25, 2022, on Comcast Black Expertise on Xfinity.

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Former Child Star Turned Filmmaker Andrea Lewis Brings ‘The Black Beauty Effect’ To Life  was initially revealed on hellobeautiful.com