Beauty, Fashion & Style

Beauty, Fashion & Style

Black women have always set the trends, here we unpack and revisit them.

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Black Ballad

BB & Garnier Presents: Birmingham Cornrow Masterclass

Sunday 16 February 2025 2:00 PM

Maxine Harrison

Is Our Obsession With Laid Edges Destroying Our Hair?

Wednesday 15 January 2025 8:00 AM

Oreoluwa Adeyoola

The Artist Making Natural Hair Fun Again

Tuesday 3 December 2024 8:00 AM

For better or worse, ‘black aesthetics’ are the cultural currency in the worlds of beauty, style and fashion – even if the credit is not so easily given.

From our ever-present influence, to the politics of ‘looking good’ and the trends across homeware and skincare that bring us joy, the Black Ballad archive is a one-stop shop that goes deep and narrow on all the things we like when it comes to fashion, beauty and style.

And if there’s a story here that you can’t see, why don’t you pitch us?

“Growing up, I also felt the constant tug of trying to comfortably slot into both Western and Somali standards of beauty, but not fitting well into either.”

– The African and Caribbean Beauty Standards That Defy European Ideals

“I equated length with beauty and it’s just not real.”

– The Artist Making Natural Hair Fun Again

“A brief discussion with my mother about my ‘baby pancake face’ (her words, not mine) ended with a big decision: I was to go to a MAC counter and get properly colour-matched.”

– What MAC's Infamous NW45 Shade Tells Us About The Beauty Industry And Colour-Matching

 

 

Tobi Oredein

All The Things I Learned At A Beginner's Cornrow Class

Monday 25 November 2024 12:00 PM

Maxine Harrison

How Black Women Are Managing Their Hair & An Active Lifestyle

Tuesday 6 August 2024 8:00 AM

Rachael Twumasi-Corson

Why I'm Saying Goodbye To Afrocenchix After 15 Years

Thursday 21 December 2023 9:00 PM

Black Ballad

Black Ballad & Untype Salon Presents: The Cornrow Classes

Saturday 9 December 2023 11:30 AM

“They hate that I went under the knife for something they deem frivolous. But my nose job helped my confidence and saved my mental health.”

– Why Are More Black Women Getting Nose Jobs?

 

Bashirat Oladele

Faith & Fashion: Black Muslim Women On Celebrating Eid

Wednesday 28 June 2023 8:00 AM

Henrietta Shirazu

How To Shop Sustainably Without Breaking The Bank

Friday 29 April 2022 8:00 AM

Henrietta Shirazu

Why Jeans Have Been Cancelled From My Wardrobe

Wednesday 20 April 2022 8:00 AM

Jendella Benson

June Ambrose On Trusting Her Younger Self & Her New PUMA Collection

Friday 18 February 2022 12:00 PM

Ata-owaji Victor

The Burden – And Limits – Of Representation In The Creative Industry

Wednesday 5 January 2022 2:00 PM

“To have my hair out always prompts disappointing looks of disdain from my gran and her generation. I often get comments like, ‘When are you going to do something with that hair?!’”

– Four Black Women On Style, Identity And Standing Out

 

Victoria Goldiee

Why Are More Black Women Getting Nose Jobs?

Tuesday 30 January 2024 12:00 PM

Tobi Oredein

Founder's Letter: We Must Stop Shopping At Asian Owned Hair Stores

Sunday 17 September 2023 11:00 PM

Michaela Makusha

Why Don't Black Women Own Black Hair & Beauty Shops?

Friday 15 September 2023 8:30 AM