March 28, 2024

Singer Izzy Bizu, on how being British-Ethiopian influences her beauty regime

True to the name of Cacharel’s new fragrance… ’Yes I Am’ obsessed with Izzy Bizu. The 24-year-old British-Ethiopian singer-songwriter is commanding attention outside of the music industry as the face of the brand’s feminine new scent.

Izzy’s lively personality is the embodiment of the scent’s manifesto, which is synonymous with youth and empowerment.

The star’s rising status in the music industry has ultimately brought her to the fore. She’s toured with Coldplay (Chris Martin is a big fan) and her first hit single, White Tiger, has garnered over 60 million streams on Spotify. The singer’s excitement for the upcoming release of her second album is palpable: “I’m very, very excited, it’s going to be really cool. ”

Here, Izzy shares her top beauty tips and tricks, “manuka honey is great for dry lips and there’s the added bonus that you can just lick it off,” and why perfume is a “self-love thing. ” As I said, obsessed!

“Fragrance is my form of self-love…

Wearing perfume is a big part of my daily routine and it’s become a part of who I am now. I’ve been wearing it since I was 17. When I was young, my mum would wear it all the time and I would hug her and find the smell so comforting. Or my dad and his aftershave – it would endlessly make me laugh because it was so strong and I’d just be like, ‘yep Dad wears the crazy stuff! ’ Fragrance really is part of your personality. When I put it on, I feel more desirable in a weird way. It’s a self-love thing. ”

“Growing up in Britain with a dual identity shaped my approach to beauty…

Being British-Ethiopian is such an amazing experience. I love exploring both cultures. The other night I met a girl from a neighbouring country to where I’m from and you have that instant connection because you know all about each other’s culture. That’s super cool and I find that when I grew up I kind of turned into my mother who is from Ethiopia. I have certain traits of hers so I very much feel Ethiopian despite never having lived there. Beauty-wise, it’s obviously a little different because I have afro hair – it’s always really fun to experiment with it. I love going to the afro shop and picking all the creams. ”

“The best tip a makeup artist has told me is…

If you get dry lips, get a toothbrush and just scrub them. Manuka honey is also very good for dry lips and there’s the added bonus that you can just lick it off. Another good piece of beauty advice I was given is to moisturise properly at night time because that’s when the skin regenerates. I’m all about taking care of my skin. The Body Shop Almond Face Mask is my go-to, because I’m on the pill, my skin gets so dry all the time so I have to over compensate with products. ”

6 simple ways to banish flakey, chapped lips for good

“When I’m going out OUT, my beauty look is minimal… but I want to try the pink eyeshadow trend…

I just put a thin line of liquid liner, concealer under my eyes and some lipstick. I might use coconut oil or Vaseline on my cheeks for a dewy look that looks like you’ve just come back from on a mini holiday.

It’s easy and I feel like then I don’t have to spend ages taking foundation off at night time. If I sleep with it, it’s not going to be too bad for my skin – I might look like a Panda but who cares. Having said that I really like the pink eyeshadow trend going on. I’ve seen girls wearing it and it looks amazing but I’d need to watch a tutorial on how to do it because it can go so wrong. I quite like the appearance of makeup after a night out where it looks like you’ve done just the right amount. I used to do that at school but my mum would call the secretary and tell her to stand at the door with a makeup wipe and take it off. I was so annoyed at the time but now I thank her because I’d have ended up with really rubbish skin.

“I love going out and meeting strangers…it builds my confidence…

I’m very spontaneous. I really love meeting strangers at bars, it’s builds my confidence and makes me feel better about myself. When you live in a city, you can sometimes feel alone but meeting strangers is a reminder that people are more together than you think. Also, we change all the time so it’s really important to meet new people because when you go through that changing process, they are going to feed into that and you feed into them. “

“I’m going to be slightly more out there with my beauty looks for the next album…

I’ve got the EP coming out which is very, very exciting. The first single is going to come out in February and then the rest will follow in March. It’s going to be really cool. I don’t think my style has changed much since the first album but I might be slightly more out there with my makeup and hair for this look of the EP. I quite like the idea of having something clean that pops. ”

“I’ve had some VERY interesting beauty regrets…

When I was 15, I really wanted to have green eyes so I went to Shepherd’s Bush and brought really cheap contact lenses but as soon as I put them in my eye, they became instantly bloodshot. I think I was allergic to something or they were just really bad quality but my mum did not approve. I thought they looked sick! ”

Yes I Am EDP by Cacharel, £35 for 30ml, available from Superdrug now.

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