Zoë Kravitz Discusses Scent, Inclusivity And Opens Up About Her Hair Journey

'Smell has this incredible ability to take us back to a specific place or time. Smell the sweater of someone you love and it’s like nothing else in the world,’ Zoë Kravitz says as we speak over the phone during her break from filming an ad campaign. Her warm, low-key manner belies the fact that her love life has been the subject of intense international interest, thanks to a series of viral paparazzi shots of Zoë and her Pussy Island co-star Channing Tatum. It’s also at odds with her status as the face of an impressive list of globally renowned fashion and beauty brands. Her career – and style – have secured her a contract with YSL Beauty, where she’s been the brand’s global make-up and fragrance ambassador since 2017 (in addition to the ready-to-wear label Saint Laurent).

But it’s her work behind the scenes, using her platform within Hollywood and the worlds of fashion and beauty to challenge everything from rigid beauty standards to inequality, that stands out most as we speak.

You could say it’s in the family line. Her grandmother, Roxie Roker, was a pioneering Black American television actor who campaigned for civil and children’s rights. Zoë, who once famously used an Instagram post about her skincare routine to endorse Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and talked about the importance of early voting and spoke out against racism during the US presidential election cycle, says Roxie (who died when she was seven) was responsible for some of her earliest memories of beauty.

‘It was my grandmother who introduced me to the world of perfume. I remember going into her bathroom when I was a kid and looking at and playing with all these beautiful perfume bottles, glamorous old- school atomisers,’ she says. ‘Scent is such a huge part of my life.’ Her favourite fragrance at the moment is YSL Beauty’s Black Opium Eau de Parfum Extreme, a more potent version of the classic. ‘It’s so balanced, a beautiful combination of traditionally masculine and feminine notes.’

With such a glittering family tree (impossibly beautiful mum Lisa Bonet, rock star dad Lenny Kravitz), you’d be forgiven for thinking Zoë’s own path to fame, which includes an ever-growing list of critically- acclaimed films and television shows (Big Little Lies, High Fidelity, X-Men: First Class, and more) was seamless. But she says the bumps and hurdles were there and often surfaced with hair and make-up. ‘When I was first starting out, I found it really hard to get a Black hairstylist on movie productions and shoots,’ she recalls. ‘I would be told that the on-set hairstylist wasn’t experienced with “my kind of hair” and be shamed for enquiring otherwise.’

Now, Zoë selects her own team but she’s aware that this is likely a reflection of her heightened stardom, rather than because of meaningful industry-wide change. ‘I don’t doubt that there are many Black actors who still feel the need to go back to their trailer and do their own make-up, their own edges, their own hair.’ That said, she acknowledges some progress. ‘I’m excited that this is now a conversation and that companies are being forced to respect cultural differences.’

She describes her hair journey as ‘an emotional one’ adding, ‘I have a lot of trauma from being one of the only Black girls in my class. If I went to a pool party the white kids would want to know what my hair looked like when it got wet. If I was at school and my hair tie broke, I’d stay in the bathroom all day. It took me a very long time to love my curls.’

She says she first began to embrace her natural hair at 25. ‘I got tired of pretending to look like someone else. I got tired of relaxing my hair and my hair breaking off.’ Since then, often with the help of hairstylist Nikki Nelms, she’s experimented with a myriad of looks, from platinum box braids and an undercut to the close crop she debuted in 2019. ‘Now, I love that I can wear cornrows and micro braids. It’s such a fun way to play and let my hair rest too, especially between jobs,’ she says.

Her haircare regimen is hardwired. ‘At night my mum and I would train our curls by taking oil and a little bit of water and winding our hair around our fingers; in the morning they would be ringlet shaped. I’ve kept my hair moisturised like this since childhood, using coconut, lavender or rosemary oil.’ It’s a ritual that has led to a sense of pride. ‘I’ve learned to find what works for me instead of covering my hair up and trying to make it look like something that was going to make white people feel comfortable. I have learned to love my hair.’

Next, Zoë takes on the role of Catwoman in The Batman. Filming for it in London kept her occupied during lockdown – she fell in love with the city, calling it ‘a home away from home’. She spent most of her spare time in east London, where she lived on Hoxton Square and shopped in Columbia Road Flower Market (‘it’s just so bustling and alive’), also venturing west to trawl for vintage treasure on Portobello Road Market. Now back home though, she describes her excitement about the new season ahead: ‘I love the smell of fall.’

Image by Stuart Winecoff for YSL Beauty

Shop: Inside Zoë Kravitz's Bathroom Cabinet