If you want to learn how to be confident and to be comfortable in your skin then turn to Thembie. Her life mantra, “when things go wrong, don’t go with them” continually inspires me to live a life where it’s okay to make mistakes and not dwell on them as long as you are learning from them. Here she shares her acne clearing tip, beauty rituals that make her feel beautiful and her go-to lipgloss.

What do you think is most important to discuss about plus-size fashion?

Plus-sized people are consistently faced with a fat stigma of limited options in clothing. For the longest time, plus-sized people were excluded and marginalized by the fashion industry. 

The tall, skinny and blonde were the universal standard for beauty. We have seen massive progress in the fashion industry-by normalizing different body types in the fashion industry. It makes me so happy to know that we, as a society, are breaking all the stereotypes and embracing ourselves-without any limitations. 

What’s your beauty mantra? 

It’s simple if you ever want to turn your day around, just wear your best outfit. If you’re going to feel good, you have to look good. Put a conscious effort towards your daily looks. We are staying indoors more than ever, it doesn’t mean we have to stop looking at our best. Get out of your PJs, style your hair the way you love and wear your favourite lipstick/lipgloss.

Your style is always on point. I’ve never seen an outfit on you that I haven’t liked. Where do you get your style/beauty inspiration from?

Thank you 🙂

 I follow a lot of plus size women on Instagram, one of my favourite being daquanawhite. She’s very confident in her body and styles herself really well, which inspired me to explore my body and experiment with different clothing to explore my personal style. Likes and dislikes alike. 

Your personal style in three words. 

Flawless. Bold. Classy. 

Has using social media affected your views on body image in any way? 

Yes, absolutely. It started with the whole small waist, big butt trend. I would compare myself to other women and their bodies. I would always compare myself to them, and that would lower my self-esteem. 

How do you cope with it, given we are spending more time online than ever now?

 It’s an active process. 

Loving my body is a conscious decision for me. One flaw that comes with social media is the comparison, and it is indeed a thief of joy. As I slowly stopped comparing, I started loving my body a little more. It’s a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. Being confident and comfortable in your skin is the start to a healthy and happy life. 

Another thing that helped me be comfortable in my skin was that I wasn’t alone in this. Seeing other plus size women on Instagram embracing their bodies just the way they area and not afraid to show it has inspired me to do the same. 

What’s your daily morning and night rituals?

It’s important to me to get my day started on a positive note because your mornings truly set the tone for the rest of the day. So, the first thing I do as soon as I wake up is- pray for seeing yet another day, followed by some daily affirmations and then some high protein breakfast.

What’s your skincare routine?

When it comes to skincare, my motto is “less is more.” I am scared to overwhelm my skin with too many products. I keep my skincare pretty simple. 

 I cleanse my face using the Masque bar and then moisturize with my body moisturizer, Jergens. That’s my skincare routine for now. However, this year, I plan to try out more of the masque bar products like their peel-off masks.

Do you have any beauty rituals that make you feel beautiful?

Every week l always have a self-care day, which is Saturday’s. After a long busy week, l take a bubble bath in Epson salt or bath bomb, put on my face mask from Masque bar. I find that it relaxes me and makes me feel beautiful all over again.

What is the one beauty product that you cannot go a day without, and why?

The Masque Bar, without a doubt. I have been using Masque for a little over three months now, and that has actually been the longest I have consistently used one product. It has charcoal and gold flakes in it, that’s supposed to help detoxify the skin by unclogging pores and removing excess oil. 

After a good wash, my skin feels squeaky clean, like it’s breathing fresh air. It has also helped me with clearing up my acne after a month of using, which is one of the main reasons I stuck with it. 

A beauty item that you can’t leave your house without?

Girl, l cannot leave the house without my lipgloss. It’s like engraved in me to always have moisturized lips. 

What’s your go-to lipgloss?

Fenty- hot chocolate. THE BEST EVER!!!!

Over the years, I’ve seen you pull off various bold hair colours such as red and pink. Those colours look so gorgeous and effortless on you. How do you pull that off?

Thank you so much! I just rock it. I guess you could say my melanin contributes to me pulling off all the bright hair colours I experiment with.

Let’s talk about makeup. Do you have a go-to routine?

 To be quite honest am not so big in doing makeup as I am still learning, so the basic one l use is just an eyebrow pencil from NYX to do my brows, foundation by Fenty beauty and lash sensational mascara by Maybelline. 

Whenever my makeup is done correctly, it’s a makeup artist. I have recently gotten into makeup and cannot wait to experiment with more looks.

When do you feel the most beautiful?

When l have to go for some kind of event or outing because that means l get to dress up and look gorgeous.

One fashion advice/tip you would want our readers to know.

I would advise that you feel confident no matter what your skin colour, the weight you are. Remember you wear clothes, the clothes don’t wear you.

Some lighting round questions:

Your favourite city.

I visited BC Vancouver a few times, and every time l go there, l fall in love all over again. It just reminds me so much of back home (Zimbabwe), that’s why. The giant trees surrounding the houses are exactly like home. It’s my dream to move there.

Favourite food.

I love pasta, especially chicken Alfredo. Mmm, the cream, cheese, chicken and everything is to die for.

A person dead or alive you would love to have dinner with and why?

I would love to have dinner with my grandmother and great grandmother. Those two women have such a social place in my heart. We used to play cards every time they visited us. They taught me all the tricks in cards. I miss them so much and wish l had the chance to say goodbye. But l know they are in a better place watching over me.

A Netflix show you would recommend.

Netflix recently brought back some old show GIRLFRIENDS. It’d highly recommend that. 

Thank you so much, Thembie. We cannot wait to see you take over the fashion industry!! All the best 🙂 xx

P.S.

More Beauty Cocktails, including a fashion model and a fashion stylist.