Simone Ashley credits her glam team for helping her to break down eurocentric beauty standards
“It’s about normalising dark skin and curly hair for girls who need to see that normalised”
Simone Ashley rose to infamy in a period drama that threw out the rulebook when it came to ‘historically accurate’ racial casting.
So it’s no surprise that the Bridgerton actress is interested in shaking up the status quo when it comes to widely accepted, outdated and eurocentric standards of beauty.
In her recent cover interview with British Vogue, Ashley admitted that conversations about the colour of her skin have been prevalent since childhood: “I went to a predominantly white all-girls school. I didn’t fit in, [and] there was bullying,” she shared.
“I would tell myself, ‘You’ll move away from this place, you’ll find your people and you’ll do whatever you want’” she continued.
“I don’t want the colour of my skin to ever stop me,” she said. “I adore the colour of my skin. I always have.”
As a result, Ashley gets emotional talking about the glam team responsible for her hair and makeup – hairstylist Peter Lux and makeup artist Alex Babsky – who help to encourage that feeling of self-acceptance.
“They understand my skin and the texture of my hair,” she explained. “And when getting ready for events, we find the joy within it.”
“It’s not a superficial thing – it’s about normalising dark skin and curly hair for girls who need to see that normalised,” she continued.
In fact, Ashley is resolute about providing beauty products for said young women. “I want them to be like, ‘Yes, I’ve got exactly the right products for me.’”
Ashley hopes their experiences will stand as welcome contrasts to her own experiences of colourism growing up: “I remember being a kid and people saying certain things that make you really aware of the colour of your skin.”
“I remember seeing those Fair & Lovely [lightening] creams,” she admitted.
“They smelt so good, like baby powder,” she went on to say. “But I didn’t understand what they were [and] now I’m like, ‘Wow. That’s messed up.’”
Ashley’s not the only Bridgerton cast member with something important to say — Nicola Coughlan wants you to stop talking about her body.
Main image credit: @simoneashley
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).
