The Charisse Report

Born in Sicily, Italy raised in Germany and now living in Brighton in the UK, Nadia Meli is a portrait photographer that I found recently through Instagram. I was actually doing some research on what my favourite camera brands were doing in support of Black Lives Matter. Suffice to say, it wasn't much, but along the way I came across Nadia's work - she's a Nikon ambassador - and was struck by the...

I first encountered Tiwa Ogunlesi at the Beauty Stack Summit a couple of months ago. Tiwa is the founder of Confident and Killing It , and she was hosting a workshop that day for Beauty Stack; her energy was palpable, even though we could only watch her through our laptop screens. Tiwa is passionate about helping women build the lives they want, but she's also unlike any other confidence or life c...

Last week Nars Senior Makeup Artist for the UK and Ireland Clayton Reid sat down and discussed everything from Black Lives Matter to MAC Disney Villains. This week it's all about the questions that YOU sent in for Clay to answer. It's a short and sweet #BeautyBuzz focused on skin and foundation. And if you're a dark-skinned woman wondering if you really have to match your foundation to your neck,...

I’m so excited to share today’s guest with you! Clayton Reid is the Senior Makeup Artist for Nars Cosmetics in the UK and Ireland, and also a DJ. Amongst many other things, we discuss what it’s like for Clay as a mixed-race man who’s able to pass and how that makes him feel when it comes to addressing his heritage, especially during a time when Black Lives Matter is finally being addressed and res...

Today's guest is Ashade Cole, founder of Slash Beauty, a small chain of beauty businesses focused on lashes in Notting Hill and Hackney. London-based Ashade gets straight into her morning routine and really knocks me for six when she tells me she's a soap and water girl. Don't get me wrong, Ashade has amazing skin, but, I just had to find out why she keeps it so simple. Ashade also shares why she...

Before I introduce today’s guest, I want to say: I welcome all listeners here and this podcast is a safe space for you to express yourself. But I do want my white listeners to know; the black square created awareness. It is now up to you to create action to make this world a level playing field. So, today’s guest! Born in Hertfordshire, Charlotte Williams is the founder of London-based SevenSix ,...

This conversation took place two weeks before the UK went into Covid-19 lockdown. There’s also a video version on my YouTube channel and I’m actually glad I waited several months so long to share it. If you’re a regular listener you’ll know that for the past few weeks or so I’ve been fully focused on lockdown content that aims to inspire and let people around the world know that we’re all in this...

This week’s lockdown guest is Alyx Carolus, a freelance writer and social media manager based in Cape Town and although we’ve never met, she’s been a constant source of inspiration and laughter during the time we've worked together for alltheprettybirds.com . In this episode Alyx talks about the things she’s really missing during lockdown and how she won’t take those things for granted again. Alyx...

This week’s lockdown guest is Elisabeth Williamson, also known as @elisa_lune over on Instagram. Elisabeth is an educator and Skin Analyst for French skincare brand Caudalie who (usually) travels around the South West of the UK, training staff on how to use the products. In this lockdown episode Elisabeth shares her lengthy morning skincare routine, which includes skincare, gua sha and an infra re...

Honestly, I've been super excited to share this week's episode with you. Today's guest is Chloe Pierre, a London-based Digital Marketing and Branding Specialist, who's also the founder of @thy.self, an online wellness platform focused on embracing self-love, self-care and diversifying the wellness industry.  I've long admired Chloe's Instagram content because she seems to have very centred ap...

If you're looking for a story that's all about inspiration then this chat with Beauty Scripts founder Greta Eagan is for you. Beauty Scripts is a product recommendation platform and app for beauty professionals that allows them to ‘script’ products and through an affiliate network earn commissions without stocking (or touching) inventory. I think innovation is key right now (during Covid-19 relate...

While it has to be said that none of us are having an easy time of living in lockdown, for creatives and freelancers things can be even tougher. While many freelancers and creators are used to working alone and might often be assumed to be introverts, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re more at ease with isolation. Whatever the memes might say about how easy artists and creatives must be finding...

In my latest #lockdown episode I talk to billing analyst, photographer and filmmaker Zainab Amina. Born in Nigeria, London-based Zainab shares how her daily routine has completely changed. We talk about why Zainab loves the process of putting on makeup as part of her morning routine, how she’s changed her social media habits – ‘Twitter is the devil!’ – and why she loves following the #dontrushchal...

In my latest #lockdown episode I talk to beauty photographer Karen Rosalie. Born in San Francisco, the daughter of Chinese immigrants, Karen shares what it was like growing up in a very traditional Asian household but wanting to be ‘American’. Without access to US TV, Karen’s role models were very rooted in fantasy and books about ancient empresses and princesses.  She talks about not realisi...

Yacine Diallo is someone I've been trying to get on the podcast for months, and it's not for lack of trying. We talk regularly via Instagram DMs, and have probably been talking for years. At the beginning of the episode we make a joke that it only took a pandemic to make this happen - just to lighten the mood, not make light of the current situation. This is the third in my #lockdown series and I...

This week's guest is Roshanne Dorsett, founder of The Glowcery Shop . No-one could have predicted that just a couple of weeks after launching her online skincare store, that Roshanne, and the rest of the world, would be forced to change our lives so drastically. This is the second in my #lockdown series and Roshanne is truly an inspirational woman. She describes how reading The Secret completely c...

How are you doing? In the UK we're at the end of the first week of lockdown in a bid to slow the progress of COVID-19, but in Milan, Italy, today's guest Tamu McPherson, has been indoors for over three weeks. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Tamu lived in New York for 23 years and has spent the past 15 in Milan, where she has built a huge following as a style influencer. I've been working with Tamu for...

Welcome to part two of my chat with Anil Salhan and Matthew Cove of Blacc + Blond hair salon, based in Birmingham, UK. In part 1 of our chat we talked about skincare and morning rituals, but this time around we’re talking about their slow hair movement  - the salon is the first slow hair space in the UK – and also about the concept of feeling beautiful applying to men as much as women. Anil a...

This week’s guests are Anil Salhan and Matthew Cove of Blacc + Blond hair salon, based in Birmingham, UK. Anil and Matt are the first male guests on BeautyMe but that doesn’t mean there’s zero beauty chat. In part 1 of our chat we talk a lot about SPF – or rather, how neither of them use it – but more importantly, they share their morning rituals, and I think, at such a stressful time, you might w...

Chloe J Flowers is a freelance writer and a 9th grade English teacher based in Dallas, Texas, who has an inspirational approach to self-care. In this conversation I love how candid Chloe is in talking about everything from affirmations, taking care of her post-pregnancy body and why black culture seems to equate longer hair with beauty to why she often chooses not to smile in photographs. Links to...

Check out the skincare I've completely used up this month, and why some of them are a MUST when it comes to re-purchasing. Links to all the products mentioned are below , and now that they’re all done, I’d love to hear your suggestions on what I should try next.  As always I really do appreciate every comment and like and would love to encourage you to hit subscribe! Until next week, you can...

This week it's just me, because I really wanted to share my thoughts on the latest 'controversial' documentary to target the beauty industry; Toxic Beauty , a documentary created by Phyllis Ellis. It all started with an Instagram post by beauty journalist Jessica DeFino (formerly known as Jessica L Yarbrough), promoting an article she'd written on the doc for US Vogue . So of course I had to watch...

It’s part 2 of my chat with London-based Dija. She’s so well-known in the British beauty community, but what I love about her is that she never rests on her laurels; instead she’s all about constantly expanding and refining her skincare knowledge. Not only has Dija recently opened a new boutique skincare space, Westroom Aesthetics in Maida Vale, she’s also the founder of the Black Skin Directory,...

Aesthetician Dija Ayodele is so well-known in the British beauty community and she’s all about constantly expanding and refining her skincare knowledge. Not only has Dija recently opened a new boutique skincare space, Westroom Aesthetics in Maida Vale, London, she’s also the founder of the Black Skin Directory , an online resource for men and women looking for a skincare professional or dermatolog...

New Yorker Anisa Benitez is Brand Manager for YouTube Music and has created a name for herself working in marketing at iconic brands such as Google and Time Inc. More recently, she decided to launch https://www.morebyher.com/home/ , a platform dedicated to the advancement of female creativity, all about replacing the 'starving artist' concept with the #thrivingartist. Anisa is super passionate abo...