The Charisse Report

This is kind of a newsy episode; kind of an update on what’s changed since my last few episodes, where I’ve discussed trends with my guests or on my solo shows. It's pretty short and sweet and focuses on: The new trend for drawing on dark circles underneath the eyes , something that recent guest Sonia Valencia and I quickly dismissed in episode 61; how more makeup artists are choosing to work sole...

TW: the subject of suicide comes up briefly in this episode. This week’s guest is Melissa Geczy, a freelance editor and student, living in Puglia, Italy, who also lives with Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN). Very simply put, it means that on a daily basis Melissa deals with excruciating pain. Anything from a slight breeze touching her face, to chewing food to putting on her makeup is incredibly painful....

Today's guest was a real impulse invitation. I spotted Sonia Valencia on Naked Beauty’s Instagram feed and was instantly attracted to Sonia’s no BS approach to makeup tips for the over 40s. It really resonated with my tagline for this show – beauty beyond the BS .  In this conversation I  wanted to find out what made Sonia get into skincare at the relatively late age of 36, and why she t...

This week’s episode is all about my makeup essentials. In the past I’ve shared my Holy Grail skincare but I think, as someone who deals with hormonal acne that also likes to wear makeup, it makes sense to share some makeup favourites. None of the products I mention were created with acne in mind; instead this is a round-up of products that help me care for my skin while also decorating it - and I...

Paris-based hairdresser Ciara Costenoble, grew up in Alexandria, Virginia and once we delve into her morning routine, we take it right back to those early days. Ciara shares some beautiful memories of being inspired by her grandmother, Hope, who loved to dress up at any opportunity, even if she was just picking up the mail or going to the pharmacy. Ciara watched her grandmother do her skincare and...

Rebecca Munroe is a film maker who works with all your favourite beauty brands and definitely has an approach that will have you reaching for your credit card after seeing her work. In this episode we talk about Rebecca’s nocturnal work hours and how they affect her skincare and selfcare moments. Rebecca also shares how a car crash helped her appreciate her body and says that it's a completely dif...

Since 2019, we’ve seen a huge rise in celebrities launching brands and products. For me, I like to think of celebrity beauty and skincare in the same way I think of entry level designer fashion. If you can’t afford the four or five figure bag then the perfume is way more affordable, and for some, it can give you the same feeling of ‘yeah, I’m expensive’. Back in 1987 Elizabeth Taylor, AKA Hollywoo...

This week's guest is Deborah Johnson. With over 14 years experience as a beauty PR for the likes of some amazing brands - including makeup of the moment, Emolyne Cosmetics - Deborah also heads up PR of the family-run salon Simply Gorgeous, owned by her mum. I was really looking forward to this conversation with Deborah; as a black woman with tattoos, she clearly stands out and holds her own when i...

If you’re a regular listener to the BeautyMe podcast then you’ll know that in the past few weeks I’ve put out two episodes featuring beauty writer Jessica DeFino . Also, if you know me at all, you’ll know that I’ve been a major fan and sharer of her work. I fully appreciate the effort and time that Jessica puts into her articles, which have been seen in the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, The Zoe Report...

Today’s guest is Rohma Ejaz, a London-based beauty PR who also loves to play with makeup on the side. In this episode Rohma discusses her skincare routine in detail (info below), why she’s seen more evidence of dark circles since working from home and how to be unapologetic when it comes to feeling your feelings and wearing your resting bitch face (RBF).  You can find Rohma's makeup account o...

Although Jessica DeFino’s Instagram bio says she’s the ‘ beauty reporter who doesn’t use beauty products ’, she actually does have a few favourites, mainly due to her search for a natural solution to her Dermatitis. In this #BeautyBuzz episode she shares the products that she truly loves, why she loves a bit of DIY and explains how Jojoba Oil has saved her Accutane-damaged sebaceous glands. Be sur...

So excited to share this episode with you! If you want to hear refreshing, honest commentary on the beauty industry from someone who clearly does their research, then this is the episode for you. Jessica DeFino is a beauty writer based in New Jersey, but I like to think of her as more of an investigator. She's written for the likes of Harper’s Bazaar, The Zoe Report, Allure – the list goes on… Dur...

I’ve wanted to interview Afia Kuofor for a while now. She’s the face behind @dontpopthatspot , an Instagram account where she talks freely about her skin journey. As well as being a journalism student and presenter, Afia calls herself an acne activist. Over the past 10 years, since she was 12 years old, Afia's skin has had 'good' periods and what she refers to as ‘waves’ of acne. In this episode A...

WOW, we made it to the 50th episode! Did I think we’d get here? Yes, I did, but I didn’t realise how much the podcast would evolve, and how that was due, in no small part to Covid and the whole world being on lockdown. Before we went into lockdown at the end of March here in the UK, I had about 20 episodes under my belt and was still trying to ensure consistency, but fast forward one month and it...

Sarah Novio is a fulltime beauty content creator from New York, living in Florida. I’ve wanted to have her on as a guest for some time; not only because I love her TikTok - it’s super informative and not just beauty for beauty’s sake - but also because she has some amazing tattoos that I wanted to be nosy about!  In this episode Sarah shares how she went from being an art lecturer and painter...

Last week’s episode was with makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes and it had a lot of really great feedback- so thank you! From that episode I shared several video snippets, which you can find on Instagram @beautymepodcast . They’ve had thousands of views, but the snippet that made the most impact, was the one where Katie shared how makeup was her meditation. In this mini episode I’m going to share som...

If you’ve ever followed me personally on Instagram you will no doubt know that New York-based makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes is a major influence. It’s not just Katie’s amazing makeup skills that she applies to the likes of Ashley Graham and Hailey Beiber, it’s her daily commitment to sharing her own makeup process, her creation of the hashtag #normalizeskintexture, and her willingness to reply t...

It’s taken me a long time to accept that my skin has issues. That’s probably not the same as saying I accept my skin, but hey. If someone had told me as a teenager that those breakouts would follow me for the REST OF MY LIFE I might have wanted to scream. Also, it might have been useful to learn skin acceptance a long time ago, because working in beauty journalism probably *hasn't* been the most h...

I first met Abi Oyepitan and Liha Okunniwa of LIHA Beauty around three years ago. At that time they’d been building their beauty business for almost three years and since then, I think I’d be correct in saying that their success has been that of a snowball effect. While Liha’s background is  arts and aromatherapy, Abi is a former Olympic athlete, and together they channel their strengths into...

It's a different kind of episode this week, as I share four conversations with four very different women. My first guest, photographer Nadia Meli , appeared on BeautyMe a few episodes ago, and in this episode Nadia says losing weight was never a goal of hers; she simply wanted to move more and change how she ate as a self-employed person who often works long hours, from home.  She talks about...

Facetune’s been around since 2013 and is probably the most popular app when it comes to changing your looks and of course, Instagram has made it even easier for us to give our faces a little tweak here and there. But are we doing too much when it comes to filters? And could it be affecting our mental health longterm? If the face you’re putting out into the world is flaw-free and perfect, how do yo...

Today’s guest is Jasmine Wicks-Stephens, founder of Brighton-based PR firm The Known Company and Faace , a cult-like vegan skincare brand focused on prescriptive masks, for now… Jasmine is very honest about her priorities; shaving her legs means she’s winning but otherwise the business comes first, then family, then Jasmine. Before the business and before her son Frank, was born, Jasmine says she...

This week I wanted to focus on two things I've been dedicating a lot of thought to: periods and Beyonce's epic Black Is King, specifically the hair and makeup. Currently I’m looking for a period coach to come on as a guest on the podcast, but for now I wanted to share just how much I've been thinking about my period lately. I don’t know why, but it’s also been a highly discussed topic with my frie...

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...