Having approached an agency two years ago, Solela has since become an Instagram star, taking off as an independent model with a vibrant career in the process.
With her ever changing hair styles, enviably adaptable looks and fierce on camera attitude, Slapp sat down with her to discuss Congolese culture, her Mum’s secret beauty formula and her thoughts on diversity in fashion…
So Solela, you’re from London but born in Congo, right? What makes Congo different from other African cultures?
I think maybe the food? We use different ingredients and different spices. When we do joloff rice, ours is white, not orange like the Nigerian version, but it is still full of flavour, and we add chicken and fish. That’s my favourite part about being Congolese. The food!
Do you like to stay healthy and fit?
To be honest, I eat a lot. I love food, but I walk a lot. It’s a 20-minute walk from my house to the station and I do it every day.
Do you have a regular skincare regime?
I use this cream my Mum makes to look after my skin and keep it soft and remove spots.
It’s from Belgium, I forget the name, but she mixes it with a body cream you can get from a hair shop. Every morning and every night I put it on. It’s my beauty secret.
What’s been the most interesting fashion shoot you’ve done?
I think shooting with Nasir Mazhar. I had to shoot on a car in underwear and a fluffy coat so it kind of reminded me of Lil Kim or Rihanna. It was quite fun.
A lot of models are speaking out about diversity in the industry at the moment, what’s your take on the issue?
I feel like they don’t give us black models a chance. They use the same models over and over again.
The black models have a really different look to the white models, so I feel like they need to use us more.
Make up is another issue. Some of the makeup artists use old make up products instead of using the new ones.
It’s always the old brands. We need more black makeup artists that can work on black faces because I feel like it’s a lack of knowledge with foundation as well.
Sometimes my foundation is too light, or it’s a bit greyish. And the eyebrows are an issue as well.
How do you stay positive in that situation?
I walk in with my eyebrows done! But I do feel kind of bad.
I had a shoot once and this woman was doing my makeup and she didn’t blend it properly, so I had to be like ‘Can I blend this?’ and she had to let me.
A lot of the make-up artists aren’t professional when it comes to doing makeup on POC.
There are loads of talented makeup artists on Instagram and I feel like shoots and shows should use them.
The new generation needs to get to work in the industry.
What’s your biggest beauty splurge?
The most expensive, I think, is Bobbi Brown foundation.
I normally use Kiko foundation that’s £12 a tube, but probably once every two months I buy Bobbi Brown.
It’s only £32, but I’d never spent so much on foundation before.
What makes it worth it?
It’s very light. I feel that the thicker formulas give me spots. Especially in summer, I don’t like wearing heavy foundation.
Sometimes I don’t wear foundation at all, I just put on bronzer and highlight a bit. I like a nice sheer coverage and Bobbi Brown gives that.
What do you find beautiful?
Definitely Rihanna! Oh, Rihanna inspires me a lot. She’s the main person that inspires me. She’s beautiful. She’s everything.
Her dress sense, her voice, her accent, her face…her body!
Would you share an early beauty memory with us?
I don’t remember this, but my Mum used to tell me that I wore red lipstick all the time.
I used to take her red lipstick and put it on my lips, and I’d go over my lip line. She’d take loads of pictures.
Basically, she used to say I was trying to look like my grandma.
My grandma always wears red lipstick and she has a beauty spot on her upper lip so I used to do that as well.
And finally, If you could only Slapp on one beauty product, what would it be?
Bronzer by Makeup Revolution on my forehead and cheekbones for a nice summery glow.
Follow Solela: @solelamalila
