Tyla is having one helluva moment. She won her first Grammy for the inaugural African Music Performance category, dropped her self-titled debut album to rave reviews, and is featured in campaigns for major brands like Gap. While her career is on a high, in her downtime, she likes to participate in self-care. The “Truth or Dare” artist shared her beauty and skincare routine with Vogue and revealed some of the wellness practices she uses, such as listening to music, lighting candles, and sound healing.
Check it out below:
Singing Bowl
Before Tyla starts her skincare routine, she likes to light a candle and use her singing bowl, which she was introduced to during a trip to Thailand. “I like doing this in the morning and praying. Starting my day, clear.”
Skincare
Youth to the People Superfood Gentle Antioxidant Cleanser
Tyla’s go-to cleanser is Youth to the People Superfood Gentle Antioxidant Cleanser, but she hasn't always took care of her skin. “I was really not a skincare girl. I used to watch YouTube videos and everything of people having skincare routines and everything, but we didn’t really have all those products in South Africa, so I was just using a baby soap and any lotion kinda girl,” she explains.
However, that all changed once she began performing more. “I started being more careful with my skin and making sure that I take care of it because I have to wear makeup and everything when I perform.” She then followed up her cleanser with Caudalie Beauty Elixir Face Mist.
Weleda Skin Food Original Ultra-Rich Body Cream
“Literally, all of my face moisturizers have to be thick. I can’t have a thin lotion because I always end up feeling dry.”
Razor Blade
Next, Tyla shares this hack for managing her eyebrows. “Usually, when I do my eyebrows, I use this. So, this is like blades. I’ve been using this for years to do my eyebrows. Please don’t try this at home,” she urges.
Black Girl Sunscreen
“I really like this one because it doesn’t leave a white cast after.”
Eye Cream
While she didn’t reveal which eye cream she uses, she did share how it’s been a game-changer in her skincare routine. “I didn’t think eye cream worked, but I actually saw a difference, and it makes me feel bougie when I put on eye cream," she shares. "I don’t know why.”
Vaseline
Vaseline gave the “ART” singer a custom blinged-out container, and she likes to use the product as a lip balm.
Makeup
Path McGrath and Too Faced Concealers
Tyla mixes both Path McGrath Labs Sublime Perfection and Too Faced Born This Way Multi-Use Sculpting concealers. “When I went on tour, it was gonna be way too expensive to have like a makeup artist or whatever, so literally I had to learn, and I started getting good, and now I can do my own makeup,” she says.
The South African beauty also uses Too Faced concealer for bronzer, but in a darker color. She brushes the concealer on the sides of her cheeks, on her nose, and on her cupid’s bow.
Eyeliner
She didn't share the name of the eyeliner she uses. However, she's a big fan of this product. “I love a liquid wing," she says. "Usually, if I’m not doing too much, I like to use a brown one ‘cause I feel like it’s not as harsh.”
BLK/OPL Soft Velvet Finishing Color
“My eyes always crease no matter what I do. I’ve searched TikTok left, right, and center. There’s no hack that works for me," she reveals. "Before I powder, I have to get rid of it again. I have to try to keep my eyes open for as long as possible so it doesn’t crease as much.”
She then contours with Charlotte Tilbury Beautiful Skin Sun-Kissed Glow Bronzer, followed by Pat McGrath Labs Skin Fetish: Divine Blush.
L'Oréal Telescopic Mascara
Tyla calls mascara her “favorite thing ever” and shares how she would wear her mom's makeup growing up. “I remember being young and I was never allowed to put on any makeup. I would steal my mother’s mascara. I would carry it with me and then I would go put it on in the bathroom at school.”
MAC Cosmetics Lip Liner and Laneige Lip Sleeping Mask
“When it comes to lip products, I really like neutrals like nudes or browns.”
Body Shimmer
“People know I have to be literally glistening whenever on stage, whenever I’m being seen," she says. "I like to mix a lotion and a highlighter.”
Hair
Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint Strengthening Edge Gel
“I’ve always loved braids not only for style but also convenience," she shares. "I’m traveling so much, I have to do so much, and curly hair is so difficult to manage.”
Last but not least, she finishes her routine with a hair perfume. "I use the same fragrance as my perfume, and I feel like it enhances the fragrance when you walk past.”
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Momodu Mansaray/WireImage
RELATED
Again, the answer never changes because, if there is one thing that Shellie Reneé Warren is gonna get, it’s 6-8 (sometimes nine) hours of sleep. However, since my chronotype (check out “Ever Wonder What Personality Traits Make Someone A 'Morning Person'?”) means that I like/prefer to write in the wee hours of the morning, sometimes I will sleep for the night for five hours and take a nap in the day. And y’all, that is just fine with me because I am well aware of the fact that napping does everything from give me more energy, heighten my alertness and even make me more creative to decrease stress levels, strengthen immunity, and reduce my chances of experiencing a heart attack or stroke.
My problem is I will oftentimes go “overboard” with my daytime zzz’s. What I mean by that is, in order to get the most out of a nap, they say thatyou shouldn’t sleep for longer than 25 minutes or so; otherwise, you could wake up feeling sluggish (I don’t but…). Also, it can make resting, soundly, at night a bit of a struggle.
So, what are you saying, Shellie? We should get quickies in? Yeah. And it’s funny that the word “quickie” would come up because just like a sex quickie can do wonders for you (and it can — check out “12 Super Solid Reasons To Have A Quickie Every Single Day”), it’s a full-circle moment when I say that something that can improve the quality of your sex life is to have a power nap (a nap that lasts between 10-30 minutes).
Wanna know how the two things correlate? Honestly, it’s no secret that sleep and sex work together to optimize both (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”). Today, though, we’re going to tap into how a nap, specifically, can have you partaking in some of the best sex that you’ve experienced in a minute. I’ll explain.
Naps Reduce Stress
GiphyIf you’re feeling super stressed out right now, you are not alone. There is plenty of data out here that says that most of us are stressed for at least a couple of reasons at a time — and that can impact your sexual health on a few levels. For one thing, it can bring about feelings of depression and/or anxiety. Stress can also throw your hormone levels off (including your cycle) which can weaken your libido. Stress can make you want to put distance between you and your partner (yes, literally).
Stress can also make it challenging to get aroused or to have an orgasm. And just what can help to decrease stress? Taking a nap. Since sleep has a way of helping you to “get off of the clock” and relax a bit, that can lower your stress levels and “reset” your body so that you are calmer — and that, in turn, can do wonders for your sex drive and ultimately your sex life.
Naps Improve Your Mood
GiphyThere is one person in my life, and fairly 80 percent of the time, she’s in a super good mood. Oh, but let that girl go without sleep, and…who is this woman? LOL. There’s research behind why this happens. When a person is sleep-deprived, it messes with their brain chemicals, and that can amplify emotions like anger, restlessness and sadness. In fact, one study revealed that people who had their sleep disrupted throughout the night, they ended up having their positive outlook on life reduced by about 30 percent.
And geeze, who wants to have sex when they’re not feeling very good? Anyway, since serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps to regulate your moods, your sleep patterns, and your libido and sleep is what helps to keep it in balance — by taking a nap, not only can it help you to feel better, it can also increase your desire for sex (it can also build up your endurance which is also…sexually beneficial).
Naps Increase Your Focus and Concentration
GiphySomething that some of my clients bring up is how, when it comes to having sex, sometimes the flesh is willing while the spirit is weak because, although the desire for intimacy is there, so much is going on that they aren’t able to get still enough to focus on experiencing copulation with their partner. This also tracks because, when you don’t have enough rest, your brain finds itself not working in harmony and that can make it hard to do everything from approaching life with a sense of flexibility to making necessary decisions.
Certain data also reveal that a lack of rest can cause you to have a really poor attention span and not process things in context (the more you know). So, if you really want to get some yet it’s hard for you to focus long enough to make it happen, ask your bae to lie down with you and take a nap. Between the sleep and the snuggling (check out “Fall's Coming: 8 Wonderful Health Benefits Of Cuddling”) — you may wake up with your mind and body totally on the same page. #wink
Naps Can Make You Feel Better About Your Body
GiphyEven if, overall, you feel really good about your body, I think that we all have moments when we feel less attractive than others — and who wants to have sex when they don’t really feel…very sexy? Well, something else that sleep, in general, can do is increase your confidence in your body.
For one thing, if you want to lose a few pounds, sleep can actually make that happen by helping your body metabolize the glucose (sugar) that’s in it so that you can better manage your appetite. Other studies go on to share that since sleep deprivation can impact one’s mental health and emotional stability in a negative way, of course, getting enough rest would increase body positivity.
Shoot, science even goes so far as to say that insomnia can cause people to have an elevated level of dissatisfaction when it comes to their body image. Don’t take their word for it, though. Look in the mirror before a nap. Then look in a mirror after waking up from me. Do you feel better? I’d be surprised if you don’t.
Makes Your Brain Bigger…Which Could Make Your Orgasms Better
GiphyI saved the best for last by design. Now if you’re wondering how in the world a nap can improve (and possibly increase) your orgasms — oh, there is a method to the madness…trust. For starters, the saying that your biggest sex organ is your brain? That isn’t a myth. Long story less long, the brain is what houses your central nervous system and that is what controls how men and women sexually function (yes, literally).
And since the brain also releases feel-good chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin during sex and brain activity significantly increases in women during sexual activity (especially right before she orgasms) — well, would it trip you out to know that when you take a nap, your brain actually expands? A bigger brain (that’s healthy) can potentially intensify your sexual experiences (and your climaxes) — and who doesn’t want that to go down?
____
Like I said earlier, I never have to be convinced to get a nap in. However, if your sex life has been a bit stagnant lately, you’ve been feeling a little sluggish and you’re not sure what to do — I’m hoping that a nap can get you right.
There’s enough science to prove that it can. All you need to do is give it a shot.
Now where’s your pillow and sleep mask, chile?
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by FG Trade/Getty Images