Click here to listen to episode seven of Beauty Full Lives with Ateh Jewel.
‘I loved Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Adventurer and Grace Jones was in that and I remember her having a little mink tale, so it was always black women as a panther or an animal or a beautiful mystical creature and I remember even then it irritated me that that was all I got.’
Ateh Jewel found beauty to be a source of comfort in a turbulent childhood, enjoying scent and glitter and then graduating to a love of colour and glamour.
But there was a fly in the ointment: as a woman of colour, Ateh was constantly being told that certain products didn’t apply to her, that pink or blush or even experimenting was not for her.
Resilient to the core, Ateh continued in her quest to find a place for herself in the beauty world and, after a stint at InStyle, started to write pieces for a host of titles including Sunday Times Style, Vogue, Tatler, Marie Claire UK, and The Telegraph.
Now, Ateh is a freelance journalist, producer, director, blogger, and mum to two twin girls who is determined to make beauty a more inclusive place, in part so that they never have to feel ‘other’ or as if beauty wouldn’t cater to them.
Ateh’s blog: Jewel Tones Beauty
Ateh’s Instagram: @AtehJewel
Ateh’s product mentions include:
– Lip Smacker Lip Gloss from 80s
– Nars lipstick Viva Las Vegas (out in 1994)
– MAC Face and Body in N9
– Shu Uemura Pink Eyeshadow
– Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Chocolate Cherry
– Aromatherapy Associates Deep Relax Bath & Shower Oil
Beauty Full Lives is hosted by Madeleine Spencer, produced by Charlie Jones, and with artwork by Sung Lee.