Hi! My name is Mbiye and I am an internet-obsessed content creator currently based out of Washington, DC. I was born in central Africa and moved to the states as a young kid. I work full time as a client services associate for a software startup, and spend my time off producing a podcast (@twointhemorningpodcast) and creating content on Instagram. I love food, music, and being an aunty to my nephews more than anything else in the world.
First thing you do when you wake up/go to bed?
The very first thing I do when I wake up is take a big sip of water from the giant gallon-sized water bottle that sits beside my bed as I sleep. I got the gallon jug this past summer as a gift and it has been the best reminder to hydrate! After hydrating I usually grab my phone and settle in to check emails and DMs from the night before.
Any ritual health/beauty/wellness routines or products?
I used to be a real product junkie. I think for a long time I associated having a lot of products with femininity, and honestly purchased and tried every new fad item in pursuit of some perfect version of being a woman. I have since pared my routine down to what feels manageable and right for me.
I discovered Glossier early in my days of caring about my skin, and have stuck with a lot of their products since. I usually use their milky jelly cleanser in the mornings and evenings, followed by their priming moisturizer. In the evenings I follow up the cleanser with a toner, usually the Tulsi + Rose toner from Lark Skin Co. I like to use the Khiel’s Midnight Recovery Oil as my last step at night. The smell is less than pleasant, but I love how bright and refreshed I look in the morning after using it.
Hair has always been touchy for me as a black woman. There is a lot of mythology around black hair -- how dense it is, how “difficult” it is, whether it’s real or fake. All of those stories I got told about my hair and how I should feel about it really got in my head for a long time. In college I got chemically straightened it to make it more manageable, but that eventually led to irreparable damage. I finally had enough and decided to chop all of my hair off, which was incredibly liberating. Being forced to have my whole face on display for the first time was incredibly frightening, but I remember smiling in the mirror and feeling like myself for the first time in a long time.
Now I am tasked with managing my budding natural hair. I primarily stick to protective styles -- braids or twists that allow my hair to grow undisturbed. When I take my braids down I like to use the hair oil by Bread Beauty to detangle my hair, then I use the Bread Beauty Hair Wash to get it clean. I like to deep condition my hair after weeks of protective styling, so I’ll use the Le Labo hair conditioner and then sit under a dryer to let the conditioner penetrate my hair. After my wash and condition I use the Bonita Afro Balm texture cream from The Doux to twist my hair into banto knots. The process is long but always feels so worth it to pamper myself and take care of my hair this way.
Favorite feature(s) on yourself and why?
My favorite feature is definitely my smile. I am an incredibly optimistic person, often in spite of some pretty difficult circumstances. I love that I’ve maintained the giant grin I had as a kid -- I wouldn’t change it for the world.
How do your work, lifestyle, and background affect your routine?
I work in tech, and tend to have pretty long days. I often find it difficult to incorporate self care into my days, so my routines have to either be short enough that I can easily do them daily, or luxurious enough that it feels like a real mental break.
I grew up in an African household around women who really saw the value in taking care of yourself and your body, and I think that’s been ingrained in my brain as well. I see small acts in my routine like using body butter after a shower or having a full wash day for my 4c hair as acts of self love and self preservation that help me show up better in all areas of my life.
What do you do to stay healthy?
I really enjoy working out, and have zeroed in on cycling as the most fun, stress relieving movement for me. I use the Peloton app for most of my classes, but I recently found a black-owned studio that is doing outdoor classes during COVID. I stay mentally healthy by journaling profusely and going to therapy regularly.
Any cultural tips/tricks you've learned from family and/or friends?
Growing up my whole family always used African exfoliating cloths in the shower to get rid of dead skin and leave our skin crazy soft. Now I use the Luv Scrub, which is the millennial version of the cloths my mom used to buy at our local African market. They are the best! Loofahs just do not do the trick.
How do you choose beauty products?
Honestly I am such a sucker for good marketing. I love trying new things and really appreciate the hard work that goes into marketing a product. That being said, I have grown to appreciate a good recommendation above all else. I solicit recommendations from everyone, and my friends are my biggest muses when it comes to picking products.
What is your cultural and/or ethnic background?
I am Congolese, and moved to the United States in elementary school.
How do your culture, ethnicity and identity intersect and affect your beauty preferences (or grievances)?
I think being Congolese gives me a natural appreciation for black beauty in particular. I feel incredibly lucky to come from a culture that appreciates blackness in a way that isn’t always seen in America. I love how dark my skin is, and shy away from products that attempt to lighten or hide my skin in any way. My biggest grievance is one that I imagine a lot of black girls have -- it’s hard to find makeup that really suits my skin shade. I am in an eternal hunt for a foundation that matches my skin!
Do you have any resources you'd like to share with the community?
I am definitely someone who is extremely online -- maybe to a fault, so I have tons of content to recommend! In quarantine I've discovered a lot of great podcasts that have made working from home so much more bearable, especially when I get tired of my music. In particular, I love The Stacks, a podcast by Traci Thomas where she discusses books with their authors. It's been a great way for me to feel like I'm in a little book club, and always sparks my interest in reading even more books.
I've done a decent amount of reading in quarantine, and my favorite read of 2020 was Big Friendship by Aminatou Sow and Anne Friedman. The book talks about adult friendships, and is a great exploration of how to invest in friendships in spite of the way that our society diminishes them. The book is really heartwarming and affirming and a great 2020 read.
2020 was also the year of the newsletter, and I dove in headfirst. I've found them to be a great way to make my inbox a happier place. In particular I am loving Aminatou Sow's newsletter, creme de la creme. It's a relatively new newsletter that doesn't have a defined niche. It is all at once a pop culture critique, content recommendation blog, and advice column. I love it. Aminatou has this really great measured optimism that makes me feel grounded and hopeful and always leaves me entertained.