Adwoa Aboah: ‘Finding Self-Love Doesn’t Happen Overnight’

Plus Adwoa thinks back to her earliest memories of make-up

Adwoa Aboah for Rimmel London Kind & Free

Updated on20th January 2022 at 5.30pm

Adwoa Aboah is a bona fide super model. Born and raised in London, she began modelling at the age of 18 and has since appeared on magazine covers the world over. She has walked the runway for everyone from Calvin Klein to Chanel and fronted campaigns for some of fashion's biggest names - think Dior and Marc Jacobs. Adwoa is also the founder of Gurls Talk, a community-led non-profit organisation that is dedicated to promoting the mental health and wellbeing of adolescent girls and young women. It was likely Adwoa's passion for Gurls talk that led Rimmel London announcing Adwoa as their international model and mental health advocate last year. She is currently the face of their new Kind And Free range, a 100% vegan make-up line that is free from fragrance, mineral oils and animal derived ingredients.

On Her Earliest Memories Of Make-Up

'I think my earliest memories of make-up are really the trial and error of learning how to put it on properly. Eyeliner was my first go-to product. I had a bright blue one and I could never apply it in a neat line so I used to dot it in the corners of my eyes instead. It was definitely a look. I also went through a stage of pencilling in my eyebrows badly.'

On Her Make-Up Mainstays Today

'The make-up products I use the most nowadays are a brow gel, lip liner, eyelash curlers and a lip gloss. I've also started to revisit dark eyeliner recently, so I'd probably throw an eyeliner in there too.'

On Her Skincare Routine

'I always use an SPF during the day on top of a good moisturiser that's not too oily, I'm prone to getting quite oily skin. I love 111Skin face masks. Medik8 and Augustinus Bader are two skincare brands that I really trust too. I ruse Sisley's Express Flower Gel Hydrating And Toning Mask, I really rate that. I'm very good at taking care of my skin actually. I've never gone to bed with my make-up on, even when I was a teenager, even when I'd been out drinking, never.'

On Her Beauty Shopping Habits

'I'm a real creature of habit, I know what I like. Nowadays I always make sure to go for products that are cruelty-free and environmentally friendly. That's why being a part of Rimmel's latest initiative is so great, the message behind it is so relevant and very much needed right now. I think people think a lot about cruelty-free and eco-friendly products when it comes to skincare, but that way of shopping hasn't historically translated as much into the ways people buy make-up for some reason. I like how Rimmel is disrupting that.'

On The Power Of Make-Up

'I think the power of make-up is really underestimated. It's so intrinsically linked to confidence and self-worth.'

On Self-Worth

'When I was growing up there there was such a lack of diversity in both the fashion and beauty worlds that I grew up with a very unrealistic idea of what I wanted to look like. I had no concept of what it meant to not see myself represented on a wider scale. We didn't even have the language to talk about it back then. It's really sad. If I could go back now and tell myself anything it would be to show myself more patience and kindness. Finding self-love doesn't happen overnight it's a long journey, and it's not linear, sometimes you'll feel like you're backtracking, but there is hope and light along the way.'

On Her Confidence Today

'I think my confidence, today, stems from the fact that I now know myself better than I've ever known myself, so whatever people might see me as or think of me, I know who I am and that's what matters.'