The women who made me

Makeup artist, beauty guru and television personality mbali mkhize reveals the women who helped shape her into who she is today.

my MOTHER

She inspires me every day to work hard and always aim higher while holding my heart with gentleness. Her faith’s deeprooted, which I find beautiful. I grew up watching her do her makeup, and that’s when my love for beauty and fashion started.

my LATE GRANDMOTHER She was my best friend. I was amazed that someone who was old school could be open-minded, so I aspire to be as understanding as she was. Before she passed away, she told me, “From the day you were born, I knew your path would be different.”

Es DEVLIN

The first time I saw her was on Twitter, in a short clip of a TED Talk series on Netflix. She was talking about the inspiration behind the stage design for Beyoncé. I found her intriguing, and I wanted to know more about how her mind works.

OPRAH

Watching her talk show when I was a child was huge for me because there weren’t many women on TV who looked like me. I wanted to become a role model for young girls too. I hope they see me, like I once saw Oprah, and think, ‘if she can do it, so can I. It’s possible.’

TRACEE ELLIS Ross

She’s funny, beautiful, stylish and so good at what she does. My mother would watch Girlfriends, and I gravitated towards Tracee’s character. Today, she’s using social media to change the narrative of what a woman’s life should be like.