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CAMPAIGN: Letitia Wright

BLACK PANTHER star Letitia Wright is the new face of cosmetic brand bareMinerals, and has said she “never thought” she’d be the face of a beauty brand.

Wright shared her thoughts on her new beauty campaign and evolving beauty standards in an interview with Glamour UK. She said: “For bareMinerals to hit my people up and the fact I used bareMinerals before, meant it naturally felt cool to be part of it.

“It inspires young girls in general, especially close to home, to have my little sister and Mum walk into Debenhams and my sister see it’s not impossible. It’s inspirational for someone like my sister to have someone she sees everyday celebrated in this way is and for that to have a positive effect on people for a long time to come.”

The BAFTA rising star nominee also discussed her beauty inspirations growing up, citing Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks as women she looked up to. “I give props and gratitude to Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks, who I would see in magazines.”

However, she added that they were still somewhat unattainable and were “few and far between.” “If I did see more of myself in magazines and beauty campaigns, in a natural way, growing up then I wouldn’t have felt that pressure of what society was telling me what beauty looks like,” said Wright.

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Proud to be part of #powerofgood and to work with a brand I’ve always loved! I’ll be on the big screen for the rest of the week at Piccadilly Circus, go check it out! #cleanbeauty @bareminerals ????

A post shared by letitiawright (@letitiawright) on Dec 7, 2018 at 5:28am PST

“I am very grateful that I snapped out of that quickly and had my own belief in what beauty meant – that’s what validated me. I just did my own thing and fell in love with the way I look and how God made me.”

The actress also credits her Guyanese heritage for showing her how beauty standards differ across the world. “I saw beauty in both sides of the world. I saw beauty in Guyana where women didn’t walk around in cakes of makeup, it’s just natural and not superficial at all. The sun naturally gives you that glow, and you are fly. So, the thing I learnt from back home is that women didn’t put on makeup to feel beautiful, they walked with integrity.

“I was able to grab that and then coming to Britain where I went, ‘ok people are using makeup in combination with carrying themselves in a very beautiful way.’ You can marry the two. But in the West, it is a tiny bit more superficial, people still love themselves – to have that truth and have that balance is amazing.”

The British-Guyanese actress is currently starring in The Convert, a play written by Black Panther co-star Danai Gurira. She’ll next appear in Avengers: End Game and in Guava Island alongside Donald Glover and Rihanna.

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