'When it comes to women of color, I think the biggest issue is lack of options. For many years we’ve been taught that you should shop in the ethnic aisle where there’s probably like seven brands that have existed since the ‘70s. Women want to shop based on need—what does your skin need, what does your hair need? It doesn’t always correlate with your ethnicity. So I just kept that in the back of my head as I moved through the industry. I was the director of PR for Zac Posen, and then I left when I was about to have my second baby—I have five now. One of the reasons I left fashion was because I couldn’t do fashion and family. So I started Georgia, my beauty line, and essentially what I’m doing now with my website, Doobop is what I was doing then—finding products from all over the world and selling them to a really global woman who’s had a hard time with her hair and also with finding products for her skin tone, and some of the nuances for her skin issues.
HAIR
My hair routine is pretty complex. I wash it with a no-detergent, no-suds shampoo no more than once a week, maybe every 10 days. I use the shampoo from my Georgia line, which I love—it’s really simple. I can actually use it as a body cleanser as well. I’m madly in love with Davines Vegetarian Miracle conditioner, which is really creamy. Then I do a scalp treatment once a month, I use the Mediterranean Bay Leaf Hair and Scalp Treatment from Ouidad. You put it on before you shampoo to exfoliate.
When I get out of the shower, I spray Davines OI/All-in-One milk whether I’m styling curly or straight. My hair is pretty light and thin, so I just do a couple spritzes. Then I do a tiny cocktail of gel, anything that seals your hair from moisture or humidity. I combine Devacurl Light Defining Gel mixed with the Leonor Greyl Éclat Naturel styling cream and then blow dry.
I stopped relaxing my hair in college—my hair does not do well with chemicals. It falls out and I get bald patches; it’s super fragile. I even have massive fallout when I color it. Now I use Phytospecific Phytotraxil—it’s a scalp stimulator and it comes with a pump. You just part your hair and spray. In the evening, I use Phyto’s night cream for hair—it's miraculously light and there’s no residue, so I can use it every night for five days straight.
When I don't blow dry it Anna Wintour-straight, I’ll do rollers to make it bouncy. I’m really into night styling, especially pin curls—it sounds counter-intuitive to style your hair before you sleep, but you just grab a section of hair, twist, and stick a pin in it. You'll have less breakage and it helps define your hair's natural curl.
SKIN & BODY
In comparison, my skin is pretty simple. I wash my body with my Georgia cleanser with aloe vera and then moisturize with the Georgia Luxury Skin Oil, a combination of grapeseed oil, jojoba and almond. It’s all very gentle and smells like gardenia. Sometimes I use Prtty Peaushun—it's good for your skin and hair and you get a nice glow with it from the reflecting minerals.
More is more on the face, so I’m into layering. I do everything now—a cleanser, a serum, a toner, an eye cream, a night cream, a day cream… It's a lot. I start with Nuhanciam Cleansing Micellar Water—a French product specifically designed for skin of color. It’s a water with ingredients that grab everything—all the dirt, debris, and oil—even in the morning when you think everything is clean. After that, you just glow. I follow up with their Pure Radiance Cream, then I do a Verso Super Face Serum. It’s kind of expensive, but it’s worth it. The scent is like an aromatherapy thin—a chic hippie smell.
Twice a day, I do the Caudalie Eye Cream. It just sucks all the puffiness out and it has illuminating reflectors, so immediately the light is shining off your eyes and the dark circles look lighter. I do it at night and in the morning, even when I’m taking my kids to school—I’ll go with these white circles under my eyes but in an hour, it's like a miracle.
GROOMING
I don't have a lot of body hair, so I don't have much in the way of eyebrows or eye lashes. Damone Roberts does my brows, he’s the eyebrow king. He’s over the top, and his eyebrow technique is over the top, too. They cut the brow back, but still shape it so it looks fuller. He says it’s so the eye only focuses on what’s necessary, so you'll see more of the face and the shape of the brow, even though you’re taking away hair. He also has his own line of tools. Once a month, I go to this place called Bling Lash where I get lash extensions, and I swear by them. I have the 'natural' look in the silk finish.
MAKEUP
I’ve been doing a lot of my makeup in the back of cabs lately, so everything is easy and doesn’t really need a mirror. I’ve been using Fashion Fair Cream-to-Powder Foundation. I have to tell you, the color is spot-on and it doesn’t make you too sweaty in the summer. I can do RMS Lip2Cheek really quickly with my fingers, too, for some color. My go-to lipstick is Mary Kay or a nude Fashion Fair lipstick. I’ve been using Becca Shimming Skin Perfector for almost a decade now and I’ll never stop. In the summer I use it like a bronzer on my cheekbones, but in the winter, I literally put it everywhere. Illuminators are tough on brown skin because if you get the wrong color you can go grayish—so when I find one that I like, I stick with it forever.”
—as told to ITG
Jodie Patterson photographed by Tom Newton.
