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

“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?

“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