The Charisse Report

This week it's another 5-minute review - but it's 10 minutes. That's mostly because I’m talking about the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream All-Over Miracle Oil – closely related to the cult product Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant. I’d love to know if you’ve tried this product or the original or if there’s another product you want me to do a 5-minute review on. Email me...

This week's guest is London-based session stylist and brand founder Danielle Igor, whose work I fell in love with after The Face magazine included her in its online Beauty Directory. While noticing a certain nostalgia about it, I was struck by the freshness of Danielle's work. Danielle began teaching herself to do her own hair at the age of 9 and today she works with the likes of brands su...

It’s another 5-minute review and this week it’s the much-loved Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask. In these short episodes I tell you what the product is, what the brand says about it and break down the packaging, the smell and feel, and give it a mark out of 5 based on whether it matches the claims on the website and how it performed for me. I’d love to know if you’ve tried this product or if there’s anot...

This week’s guest is the amazing London-based makeup artist Bea Sweet. Often compared to Queen Pat McGrath, Bea is the creative behind some truly stunning looks for the likes of everyone from singers Jorja Smith and Twigs to British-Australian actress Miriam Margolyes. In this episode Bea looks back on the products that really got her into beauty and blows my mind when she talks about her formal m...

Today’s episode is a kind of stream of consciousness thing, musing about the 'Latte Makeup' trend. In this short and sweet episode I break down the trend, how the label originated and try to get to the bottom of why the trend kind of irks me! I would love to know what you think - am I reaching or do I have a point? If something else is bugging you, or inspiring you in the world of beauty f...

It’s another 5-minute review although it’s definitely a bit longer today as the product I’m talking about is Glossier’s G Suit Soft Touch Lip Créme. In these short episodes I tell you what the product is, what the brand says about it and break down the packaging, the smell and feel, and give it a mark out of 5 based on whether it matches the claims on the website and how it performed for me. For c...

This week’s guest is the wonderful, award-winning entrepreneur and hair expert Winnie Awa. In 2020, London-based Winnie founded Carra, an online platform powered by data to give people with textured hair the world over the advice and product recommendations they really need. More recently, this June, Winnie launched The Texture Gap, an AI-driven report from Carra Labs that highlights the lack of c...

This week’s guest is London-based Claudia Walder, fashion stylist and founder of Able, a magazine created for disabled people. When Claudia was 23 and working as a stylist she began to experience some health problems that eventually became incredibly debilitating. Six months later she was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS). In this episode Claudia shares her experiences, how she had ess...

Today we’re talking about weight, or rather, I’m talking about whether we should ever talk about weight when it’s nothing to do with our own body. Meaning, should we ever talk about someone else’s weight, whether it’s gone up or down, whether that’s 'good' or 'bad'. If at any point during this episode, there’s something you want to say or share, please do find me in the DMs on Twit...

It’s another 5-minute review and this week it’s the cult like Dior Addict Lip Maximizer, also known as a Plumping Gloss that gives an instant volume effect. In these short episodes I tell you what the product is, what the brand says about it and break down the packaging, the smell and feel, and give it a mark out of 5 based on whether it matches the claims on the website and how it performed for m...

This week’s episode is a deep dive into the history of Estée Lauder’s iconic Summer scent; Bronze Goddess. First of all I’m going back to when it first launched to try and break down what makes it such a cult fragrance and I’ll end by sharing my thoughts on the very latest iteration of the fragrance, L’Eau de Lumiere. I’d love to know if you know this fragrance so be sure to head to my DMs over on...

It’s another 5-minute review in which I pick one product and tell you what the brand says about it, breakdown the packaging, the smell and feel, discuss some of its key ingredients and give it a mark out of 5 based on whether it matches the claims on the website and how it performed for me. This week I’m talking about Korean brand Beauty of Joseon's Ginseng Essence Water, an amazing toner that I t...

Jeanine Lobell, the founder of iconic brand Stila, is this week’s guest and it’s one of the best conversations I’ve ever been lucky enough to have. Jeanine started out as makeup artist – and still is today – and in 1994 she changed the face of beauty with her whimsical, functional brand. In this episode I ask Jeanine to take us all the way back to the ‘90s – what did it take to build a beauty bran...

It’s another 5-minute review in which I pick one product and tell you what the brand says about it, break down the packaging, the smell and feel, discuss some of its key ingredients and give it a mark out of 5 based on whether it matches the claims on the website and how it performed for me. For consistency, when it comes to the ingredients part I will use incidecoder.com, a website specifically c...

This week's episode is a blend of some of my favourite things - from the June issue of British Vogue’s beauty pages courtesy of Twiggy Jalloh and Funmi Fetto to my latest palette purchase from Byredo; my beauty breakdown of Lana Del Rey’s new music video and chatting about Summer scents with my friend Rachael, a true fragrance enthusiast. Rachael shares her favourite perfumes and advises us ho...

For this episode I wanted to explore the many layers of discussion around Beyoncé launching haircare, including the question, is she even qualified to launch a haircare line? As part of Destiny’s Child alongside longterm members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, from 2001 onwards the band won every award you can think of, and as a solo artist Beyoncé has amassed over 30 Grammys and is tied with...

This is the first in a new series of short and sweet episodes that are solely product-based. Each episode I’ll tell you what the product is, what the brand says about it, what the reviews say and break down the packaging, smell and feel. I'll also and give it a mark out of 5 based on whether it matches the claims on the website and how it performed for me. This week I’m looking at the Caudalie...

This episode is dedicated to the impact of Donna Summer, the woman known as the queen of disco who inspired millions around the world to dance, really dance, and forget their troubles. But it wasn’t just about the sounds – it was about her hair, her features, her makeup, the glitter and the sequins. The reason I’ve decided now is the time to focus on the wonders of Donna Summer is because HBO is r...

This week it’s the Battle of the Bases! I’m testing the Saie Glowy Superskin Weightless Hydrobounce Serum Foundation against Ilia Beauty’s Super Serum Skin Tint. Both products are aimed at giving you a natural, glowing base and after reviewing them side by side over, I thought it made sense to share a full review of both for the podcast listeners. Full disclaimer; all products reviewed were kindly...

It's a Bank Holiday BONUS episode because I wanted to weigh in on the story surrounding lifestyle vlogger Bria Jones and her decision to turn down a Tarte brand trip to the Miami Grand Prix. It's a story about the billion dollar business of Formula 1, unfair treatment, so-called 'miscommunication', alleged death threats and for some, it's also about race. For me, this entire ex...

The 2023 Met Gala happened Monday May 1st so of course, this episode is all about the hair and beauty moments from the night. With many of my favourite fashion accounts labelling the event as 'the worst Met Gala ever' I'm pretty relieved I'm only focusing on the hair and makeup. To be honest, I had a feeling about this year’s gala, because the theme itself – designer Karl Lagerfeld – never really...

This week’s guest is Karina Chan, a Chinese American Project Manager who grew up in the Silicon Valley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. In this episode we discuss how perception and presentation shows up differently for people of colour and Karina shares some beautiful insights from former US Vogue editor-at-large Andre Leon Talley’s book The Chiffon Trenches . Karina also shares early memories of...

This is an episode that I felt compelled to make, because I wanted to let you know about the amazing facial I had recently with Katie England. Based at my favourite London hotel, the NoMad in Covent Garden, Katie is a facialist with over a decade of experience and during that time she has truly honed her craft and her way of looking at skin. For me, this was an experience that still hasn't lef...

This episode is all about the hair and makeup we see in new AV Rockwell movie  A Thousand and One , because since seeing the trailer I've been so impressed with the ‘90s and 2000s looks. The movie, starring singer and choreographer Teyana Taylor as ex-convict Inez, is set in Harlem, New York and focuses on her heart-rending story that begins with her deciding to kidnap her 6-year-old son from...

This Guido Palau special was a long time coming and I'm so glad my friend and hair architect Joy Matashi told me it was a must! In this episode I talk about Guido's start in hair - he was told he would never make it by the way - as well as his influence on grunge, his longterm collars with photographer David Sims and designer Alexander McQueen and why he's still going strong today. I d...