STYLE

If you scroll down Amandla's Stenberg's Instagram feed, you'll see her sporting various styles from eccentric bright blue braids to her natural afro currently dyed blonde. From the comfort of her bathroom in Los Angeles, the The Hate U Give star recently gave Vogue exclusive access to her simple skincare and beauty routine which includes ombre box braids, her classic smokey eye routine, and the TikTok brow.

Who knew the secret behind Amanda's flawless skin was following five simple steps? Stenberg begins her routine by plunging her face into an ice bath, which leaves her feeling rejuvenated as she signals a thumbs up to the camera.

She then hydrates her face with an affordable CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, and follows it up with an exfoliating pad which she rubs on her face and lips to "get rid of build-up and gunk".

The next step in her routine is using Biore Original, Deep Cleaning Pore Strip, and Amandla jokes,"I like to see what's coming out of my nose".

The final step in her skin routine is moisturizing her skin with CeraVe Daily Moisturing Lotion.

Amandla dives into her hair routine, revealing a pack of colorful ombre braiding hair for her box braid technique. To our surprise, she learned the technique during quarantine! She begins by parting her in a triangular shape, which wouldn't be possible without using two mirrors. The process took approximately 3 hours to complete. Satisfied with her job, she laughs, "Look at this? Do you see these parts?"

Amandla then unties the neatly tied Bantu knots to moisture and seal in the moisture using DevaCurl SuperCream Coconut Curl Styler Curl and Cantu Extra Hold Edge Stay Gel.

As the actress begins her braiding technique, she shares why she advocates for protective styling:

"The wisest actors that I've talked to, have all been proponents of wearing wigs or weaves for projects just because as an actor, you will destroy your hair trying to get it to look like whatever character you're playing."

During her earlier years in high school, the actress was inspired by her best friend who constantly experimented with her hair and that friend would eventually take Amandla to her first braid shop. The rest is history!

"It just changed my whole life...You can express yourself in so many different ways through individuals and through braids. There's so much freedom in terms of color and style."

2 sore arms and 8 hours later, Amandla pumps her fists in the air to celebrate her hard-earned look.

The gift that keeps on giving, Amandla reveals her secret to making her skin look fabulous *and* natural. With the tip of her fingers, she applies MILK MAKEUP Sunshine Skin Tint in the shade medium to tan, underneath her eyes and around her chin. She then smears Alima Pure Natural Definition Eye Pencil on her waterline and re-highlights her lash line.

"As I've gotten older, my relationship with makeup has shifted...I feel like I have a relationship with it now that feels way less about covering flaws or insecurities around but more just about having fun," she shares.

Amandla cleans her look with concealer before moving on to her eyebrows, which is shaved on both ends, thanks to a popular TikTok trend. She had no regrets giggling, "I have a different eyebrow shape than usual but honestly loving it. Absolutely loving it." She applies brow pomade to fill in her brows and slicks them with Eco Style Professional Styling Gel. She completes her look by brushing her brows upward.

She then applies L'oreal's Voluminous Original Mascara on her upper and lower lash line before adding a glimmer of shine to highlight her defined cheekbones and cupids bow. Amandla wraps up the look moisturizing her lips with Maybelline's New York Baby Lips Moisturizing Lip Balm and doing a 2 in 1 combo using her luscious red Sunnies Face Lip Dip as a blush. Talk about duality.

The completed look is flawless! Who said you couldn't slay while in quarantine?

To watch the full tutorial check it out here:

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by Samantha Dorisca | 7/2/2020