As she releases her book “Flesh,” model and campaigner Charli Howard discusses misogyny, the male gaze and rediscovering beauty as a source of self-care.
“As a teenager, beauty and make-up were fun. I would use products to experiment with colour and texture, save my pocket money to buy new eyeshadows or lipsticks and spend hours trying different ways to be creative. But as I began to mature and attract male attention, beauty became less about fun — and less about enjoyment for myself — and more about looking better and more attractive for men. If anything, wearing make-up became more of a requirement.
I learnt that the prettier I became, the less shit or negative comments I was likely to receive. The irony is that if I didn’t receive cat calls, I believed I was getting “uglier”.
Through writing my new book, Flesh, I wanted to explore how misogyny and the male gaze affect the relationship we have with our own bodies. Through research, I saw just how much of ourselves we lose not only to misogyny, but to the beauty and fashion industries too.
But what I have learnt is that beauty, and beauty products, can absolutely be a great source of self-care and happiness when used not for external validation or male approval, but to make yourself feel better. It brings me back to a time when the world felt fresh and exciting.
FOR HANDS-ON HEALING
I love facials — just being able to zone out for an hour and have someone massage my face. Improving my skin has also meant I no longer need to wear make-up. My favourite facialists in London are Jasmina Vico, Melanie Grant and Guendalina the Skin Sculpter.
THE SKINCARE WITH PURPOSE
When I met Nicolas Travis, founder of Allies of Skin, I was blown away by how he creates his products to help women, especially those who have experienced acid attacks. He is proof that beauty can make us feel better within ourselves. Try his molecular silk amino hydrating cleanser (£38, cultbeauty.co.uk).
LIGHT WORK
A blast of the Lyma Laser Pro (£4,995, lyma.life) before make-up or an event is all it takes to make my skin glow. Lucy Goff, the founder, really supports and encourages women too.
TO REFINE AND DEEP CLEAN
I use the Shark Beauty FacialPro Glow (£340, sharkclean.co.uk) once a week and I adore it. It saves money on having to go for hydrafacials and it’s so therapeutic seeing the murky water and debris being sucked out.
THE LIQUID PARASOL
Rain or shine, I always wear SPF. I love Charlotte Tilbury’s invisible UV flawless poreless primer and tend to wear it on its own (£68, charlottetilbury.com).
FOR BIG LASH ENERGY
I bought L’Oréal Paris telescopic extensionist mascara (£13.99, boots.com) after being influenced online and, oh my god — it makes your lashes touch your eyebrows.
FROM THE QUEEN B
Everything Victoria Beckham makes is incredible but I love her No 3 lipliner. She also makes a great daily lactic acid gel cleanser in collaboration with her facialist, Melanie Grant, (£31 and £60, victoriabeckhambeauty.com)
FOR CUT, COLOUR AND CATHARSIS
I have been seeing Josh Wood in Holland Park for years. It’s like therapy, with a nice hair cut or colour on top. (joshwoodcolour.com)
Flesh is out now (£14.99, Trapeze)
