Oscar-nominated 12 Years a Slave actress Lupita Nyong’o dishes with Glamour magazine on her skin care and makeup secrets, her movie roles and even shares what she protested against in high school!
Check out excerpts from her interview below. The full interview is on news stands now.
Lupita on whether wearing makeup bolsters confidence: “I went to an all-boys high school, and they accepted girls in only the two A.P. classes. They had these archaic rules: For example, girls couldn’t wear makeup. I found it so outrageous that an all-boys school could tell girls to not wear makeup! So I went on a campaign. I got a petition signed and everything. If a girl wants to wear makeup to boost confidence, why not? [But] I’ve worked hard to feel beautiful in my natural skin. Personally, I don’t ever want to depend on makeup to feel beautiful.”
Lupita on her go-to red carpet look: “I love color. I’m enjoying trying all different shades. Makeup isn’t something I’ve worn a lot of in my life. So it’s good to work with someone like [makeup artist] Nick Barose, who is inspired by my complexion and knows how to work with it.”
Lupita on her skin care secrets: “I love using natural oils. I use avocado oil and Hawaiian Kukui Oil on my face. I like to keep things natural, simple, and straightforward.”
Lupita on her close cropped hairstyle: “The first time I cut all my hair off was when I was 19. I just got fed up going to the salon every week. I’d had enough! On a whim, it was off. It’s low maintenance.”
Lupita on the movies that shaped her childhood: “The Color Purple was one of the first films I saw that had people who looked like me. Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah were big influences…Another film is Eve’s Bayou. I can’t watch that movie enough.”
Lupita on getting into character for her role as Patsey in 12 Years a Slave: “I remember in my very first fitting, [costume designer Patricia Norris] gave me a garment with these intricate stitches—stitches over stitches, because it had been repaired so many times. Once I put it on, she told me that it belonged to an actual slave woman. My heart just stopped. Each one of the stitches had a story, you know. Just recognizing this period I was going to be dancing with was a “come to Jesus” moment.”
Photos by David Slijper/glamour
