Black Girls Killing It

Make-up artist Afia tells BGKI about her sense of style - Black Girl Killing It - Interview #11

How would you define your personal style?

My personal style is a mix of casual, glamour and a lot of afrocentric inspiration. I have now come to love ankara mainly because of my native background, so now that I see it more in the mainstream media I love it that much more. I also love vamping up my outfits with my makeup cause I think it adds that little cherry on top :)

Do you find that you follow fashion trends or do you play by your own rules?

I follow trends for sure… but I end up putting my own twists to the trends by either making my interpretation more subtle or bolder. I also love thrifting so it adds a more vintage aspect to my outfits as well.

Are there any colours that you tend to shy away from, and if so why?

No I don’t stay away from any color at all…. I believe that it all depends on how you work with color. Some color may make you look larger/smaller in some areas of the body so all you would have to do is learn how to manipulate all colors so that it will accentuate your natural curves.

As a child were you always into clothes or did you grow into your own fashion sense?

Actually as a child I was a huge tom boy lol…. I loved sports so that caused me to not really care about the way I looked or dressed. As I was growing up I had realized that I was getting a knack for fashion, so slowly but surely I started to grow into my own fashion and I love it.

How does your day to day life factor into your lifestyle choices?

Well I’m a university student so that has a huge factor on the way I dress. The main reason is because it is a big campus so I walk around a lot, so this causes me not to wear high heels or very short skirts because I wouldn’t to be irritated for the majority of the day. I usually go for comfortable, casual yet fashionable outfits.

Are there any designers that you like to wear or whose clothing stands out with you?

Right now I am seriously obsessed with American Apparel, Guess by Marciano, and Zara but to be honest sometimes those pieces may not even be the most stand out pieces in the outfit I choose to wear at times. I really don’t need name brand stuff to pull off some looks, its just nice to have it sometimes but it really isn’t essential :)

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