Maya Amolo on her Colors Show and the secrets behind her flawless skin

Her go-to local beauty brands and artisans in Nairobi.

Welcome to our latest series, Emerge. We are spotlighting creative peeps who are from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Creating in every language you can possibly imagine, we want to highlight these international tastemakers. We are talking to them about their career journeys, beauty secrets and wellness tips.

Maya Amolo is known in the circles that matter. She’s been the face of a number of Spotify playlists and last year she was the face of Spotify Africa’s inaugural Fresh Finds playlist.

Speaking to Maya on video call with her while she was in Nairobi, you see the star quality in her videos is really an extension of the person: she has such high self-awareness, is so at ease with herself and takes her time to thoughtfully answer every question.

Fresh off her first Colors show, Maya takes us behind the scenes telling us how everything came together from her outfit to her nails. She also broke down her beauty and haircare routine telling us all her beauty must-haves.

On her sound

I always describe my core sound as RnB - it’s an alternative Afro pop fusion. I am inspired by hip hop, Kenyan musicians and mainly, I am inspired by the city of Nairobi and the way in which it moves and melds together.

I listened to R&B alot growing up - my mum would play a lot of Brandy, SWV, Aaliyah, Beyonce, Destinys Child and when I went to high school my friend Imran put me onto more Rnb music - it was the era of Jhene Aiko, the Party Next Door and I really got into it.

R&B is really people’s thoughts and feelings so when I make music and I want to connect with something I’m feeling, RnB feels like the best medium to get those thoughts out.

On her writing process

It is SO random! Sometimes I will be feeling kind of sad so I feel I should write something and other times I can be inspired by a beat. More recently, when Spotify and Tantalizers came over it was the first time I was at a writing camp and I was so nervous what if the music doesnt come to me this week?!

The main thing is I have to be inspired by something - whether its my feelings, the weather, music - you can never prepare yourself for inspiration to come so it is quite random in that sense.

On preparing for her recent Colors Show

I’ve been watching Colors Show since 2017 so when they reached out it was so surreal - Spotify and Colors flew their teams out to Nairobi and recorded here. Part of me couldn’t believe it happened till it came out on YouTube.

It's also nice because its an achievement that even my family members can understand and recognise.

I was so nervous! They recorded a few shows in Kenya but I was the first show they recorded so that was even more nerve wracking! It was a very big room, it was so quiet and everyone was just looking at me (laughs).

The director was really good and we did some takes back to back so that I wasn’t overthinking it. I felt really good which helped because the designer that designed my outfit is incredible and my makeup artist made me feel really good as well. Even though I was nervous, when I got into the groove I was like I am meant to be here so let me show up the way I am supposed to.

On her fashion for the show

I wanted to first what song we would go with and the song we went with was a bit more edgy and I’m super into streetwear so I already knew I wanted to wear those pants so I called the designer, Duse, and she suggested a corset that would look great with the pants and we thought the black and blue denim would look great against the yellow and with my skin tone. It came together very quickly after that.

On the visual artistry in her video “Lush Green”

My mum directed that video (she actually has directed all my videos out now) and we thought this song is about home, what I miss about home. New York in winter there’s no green anywhere and its cold and I was in a college which is majority white people it felt so strnage for me. I wanted to be inside of what I described in the song: surrounded by people I love, people who look like me, the green and you can even see me in a tube of water because I love baths I feel so safe in them.

We worked with Khalid Ramirez, a good friend of mine, who was the director of photography and it all came together very beautifully.

Dream collaborations

Amaarae - I think she is so cool

Tems - she is so epic I feel like I’m working really hard to collab with her but she’s working hard too so the closer I get the further she gets (laughing) but I know one day I will find myself in the studio with Tems.

Tyla - She’s so fun I feel we would so something cool together

Xenia Manasseh - I really wanted to collab with her and we did on my Deluxe album with the song Love Letters

On learning that less is more

Before I went to New York, I started using all these products because skincare was booming at the time and I was following all these influencers. I had a 5 step routine. One of the brands I got most of my products from was The Ordinary and they had a store in Manhattan so I went in and the lady there was like you do not need to be using all these products (laughs)! You just need to cleanse, put some sunscreen on and get about your day. It was quite funny and it really helped me move into my less is more phase.

In general, my skin was quite happy in New York aside from getting quite dry in winter. When I get nervous or anxious, I can get some eczema in my inner elbow but when I went to New York it completely cleared.

On skincare

I love routine but I’m still figuring it out step by step.

I use Neutrogena Hydroboost cleanser (my sister told me not to use it but I’m like well it's working for me) followed by the Cerave moisturizing sunscreen. I don’t use the sunscreen every single day because I don’t want my skin to be too dependent on it.

I also use face oils from a brand called Nurture Organics. I mix almond oil and a few drops of peppermint oil and I use that on my face, neck and the places where my eczema usually shows up. I really love how the products are so simple, thoughtful and intentional. When I told Vinette, the founder of the brand, that I have eczema, I got the free peppermint oil to try. I have very sensitive skin so sometimes I react or get burns from products but the Nuture Organics have worked for me.

On haircare

I love my hair. My mum did my dreads for me when I was about ten so I’ve had them for about 14 years now.

I try not to fiddle with it too much because my hair and scalp can be sensitive especially if I use too many products.

I wash my hair with a combination of Ghanian black soap and coconut oil. Then I use a regular gel to twist or I will use a mixture of shea butter, cocoa butter and a bit of beeswax just for it to hold.

Every 4-6 months, I do a henna-based deep conditioner which gives like a cool glaze. I buy the henna in Nairobi and the conditioner I use is a Kenyan brand called Harvest of Sunshine. I use their leave in conditioner when I’m in a rush, their regular conditioner after washing and the deep conditioner I use with the henna glaze to give my hair some TLC.

On her nails

At the end of 2019, I met my nail tech - his name is Fabian and since then I have never gone to anyone else. He is so incredible and every time I work with him he gets better and better. He is always learning and he is so into the technique, very impressive.

My favourite nails so far were the ones I had in the Colors video (image above) - a metallic chrome with a blue holographic mirage effect.

Last Christmas I got cherry red nails which I may get again this festive season because I love Christmas!

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