*Lupita Nyong’o is known for being one of the most beautiful and stylish celebrities around.
Yet despite being one to watch regarding fashion, the Oscar winner, who graces the cover of Lucky magazine’s March 2015 issue, was banned from wearing make-up for a period in her life. According to Nyong’o, her exposure to make came from relative rather than her mother.
“My mother has never ever worn a drop of makeup in her life—not even at her wedding,” she told Lucky. As a girl, Nyong’o’s only real exposure to the world of creams, sticks and shadows came via an aunt who would occasionally visit with the contraband materials and paint her face while her mother was out. “Honestly, my mother’s outlook was hard for me to take when I was a teenager and I wanted to experiment. But in the end I appreciated it, because today I can look in a mirror with no makeup on and love myself.”
Needless to say, Nyong’o has put her love of make up to good use as the face of various cosmetics brands, including Lancôme. As for her go-to make-up item, the entertainer is quick to mention one of Lancôme’s products, saying, “I always have a Lancôme Lip Lover, in one shade or another, in my purse. They just add a little something. I’ll choose the color depending on what I’m wearing and how much tint I want—this one is really, really light, but it dresses you up immediately.”
In addition to her make-up ban, Nyong’o touches on dealing with fame as well as social media and being nervous before speaking engagements.
Highlights from Nyong’o’s Lucky interview are below via theYBF.com:
On the frustration of being a high-profile celebrity:
“The not-so-fun part of all this is that when I don’t feel like being famous, I still am,” she admits. “When you’re in the middle of Manhattan and you have to pop into Starbucks to use the restroom and everyone recognizes you when you’re waiting on line, it’s awkward.” I ask if she’s come up with a way to cope: some clever disguise, a wig, a hoodie, a full-body Snuggie, maybe? She admits that she has. So, what is it? “I’ll never tell,” she says slyly, raising an eyebrow and putting a polite end to the discussion.
On accepting the fame:
“All of my life, my father was a high-profile person,” says Nyong’o, whose dad, Peter, a professor and political activist, is now a senator in the Kenyan parliament. If there is a slacker in the Nyong’o family, we can’t find one: Her mother, Dorothy, is on the board of the Africa Cancer Foundation; her cousin Isis is a technology executive who was voted one of the most powerful young women in Africa; and her cousin Tavia is a respected cultural critic. “Being brought up in the family that I was brought up in, we were always in a position of example. So it’s something I don’t wrestle with. I don’t question it. I accept it.”
On social media:
“I’m governed by things that made me smile, laugh and think,” she says. “And if they do that to me, then I ask myself, Would anybody else care to see this? If I can think of one person, I post it.”
On speaking engagements:
“It makes me very nervous. My heart is on my sleeve when I do those things, but the only way I know to do them is to speak from my heart. So it costs me a lot … and then I need to take a nap.”
Read the full article and see full photo spread at Lucky Magazine.
