Ryan Pfluger
[Growing up], my family swore by olive oil; olive oil on your hair, on your lips. Castor oil — I’m Jamaican and castor oil is something I had to have in my hair as a child. Now, whenever my hair is going through something, I just rub some castor oil in it, put a shower cap on, and wash it out.
I like my curls to bounce when I get out of the shower. Charlotte Mensah’s and Living Proof’s shampoos and conditioners are great. Also, Living Proof has a conditioning spray that’s really good, and I swear by TGIN, Thank God It’s Natural. They’re a Black-owned company. When a Black girl does her baby hairs, gel kind of shines on your forehead. But when I use their Butter Cream Daily Moisturizer, it just seeps into my skin and creates a set without being like gel. I use that, probably, every day or every other day.
I have full lips and big eyes. I don’t like to distract one from the other; only one of them can take the crown at one time. I like a bold red lip. I’m learning about different types of nudes. There’s probably about a thousand nudes in the world for lips and I’m learning all of them slowly. I really like to do a brown lip liner with a nude-y pink on the inside because it makes your lips pop. Fenty Beauty lip glosses…just thank you, Rihanna. As soon as those came out, I got all of them. Fenty’s blood red is my favorite. Can’t catch me slipping. If I’m out and end up going to dinner, I’m always going to have it ready in the bag. [In my next life], I would come back as lip balm. I have one in each handbag. Dr. Lipp Original Nipple Balm is fantastic. I forgot it when I was out today and I was so annoyed with myself. I can’t concentrate, I can’t speak properly without lip balm.
I own many eye shadows, but I don’t ever use them. I’m slightly terrified I’m going to look like a panda or like a child’s just done my makeup. If you see me outside, you will see, probably, a black eyeliner and plain eyelids — plain. I like a clean look with a liquid eyeliner from MAC and Dior mascara. I’ve got a couple, but Diorshow Iconic Overcurl has a nice brush. I’ve got curly eyelashes, so I can’t just use any brush because sometimes [my lashes] go into my eyelids, which is weird. I’ll use a Fenty Beauty Glow Stick. I like putting it at the top of my cheek because it gives a little raised glow. It’s nice to let my skin breathe, but if I am wearing foundation, it’s usually Armani Beauty’s silkiest of silkiest foundation, or Pat McGrath has some beautiful foundations.
I know some people don’t cleanse and I try not to be judgmental about that. But my mom never let me get away with not cleansing. On a Sunday my mom would make me do a face mask, wash my hair and condition it, put cucumbers on my eyes, and cleanse my face before moisturizing. That would be my Sunday. I use Kiehl’s Calendula Face Wash at the moment and also Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Cleanser, which is just a dream. I’ve had a few facials from her. I can say that the first 50 minutes were fantastic. After that, I wouldn’t know because I was asleep.
Usually, [I’m wearing] about four to five serums. If I’m not dripping, then it doesn’t make sense. I need to look like I have the sun on my skin. I do Glow Drops, again by Dr. Barbara Sturm, Vitamin C from Paula’s Choice, and then Hyaluronic Acid by 111Skin, CBD Face Oil from Kloris. Then, if I’m feeling like I’ve not got enough serums on (which is probably never, I’m always shiny), I use Embryolisse, just for an extra sealing in [of moisture]. It’s great at nighttime. Oh, and Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate too.
My skin, whether it be the health of my skin, my melanin, or the glow, is something that people see as soon as they see me. I want people to feel my aura through my skin, through the way I approach beauty. The aura I would project is ease. When you’re not very confident, enter into ease, into calm. When you are going off of adrenaline, it’s also good to remind yourself to ease. So, yeah, [my aura is] ease, calm, and arriving as yourself, I’d say. And it would be purple. I don’t know why. — As told to Elizabeth Siegel
