Slapp Chat with... Wendy Asumadu
52 posts in and Wendy Asumadu is already making waves on Instagram. Loved for her creative use of colour and up-close candid shots, Wendy has helped us reimagine what we do with our palettes and has us hankering after festival season with every post. Fearlessly eccentric and an advocate of self-love and exploration, Wendy Asumadu is a modern day muse on a mission.
Name
Wendy Asumadu
Where are you from?
I’m a Ghanaian girl, born and raised in London.
What do you do?
I’m an artist. I use mediums such as photography, video and text to explore the meaning of one's authenticity. I’m interested in how culture, surroundings and upbringing influence our identity.
More recently, I have been focused on my makeup page (@wendysworld_xox) where I create eccentric, bright and bold looks that reflect my influences. The page is also about questioning the notions of beauty and determining what makes us authentic.
What’s your day to day like?
I usually create one or two looks for my Instagram, then I work on any freelance work that needs completing.
What has been your greatest achievement in your career so far?
In my beauty career, I’d say being a model for Glamour magazine’s #yourbeautyyourrules campaign. It gave me a massive platform to actively speak about the importance of creating and owning your own beauty.
What advice would you give to other girls and guys looking to get into creative industries?
Do it and don’t you ever give up. I’m not going to say it is easy because it isn’t. But honestly hard work pays off. I’ve pursued the creative route for as long as I can remember and I constantly developed ideas and executed it and hoped for the best. It’s not always going to work but you keep pushing. You’ll find your niche along the way, I’m still figuring out what mine is.
What are your experiences of diversity in the industry?
I’ve been lucky to have great experiences through the campaigns I’ve worked on; the models have been very diverse and multicultural. I do think more can be done to push the norms of beauty and when I say beauty I don’t only mean about the way people look. I think it’s also important for brands to show that there isn’t just one way to use makeup. I think brands should show how fun and explorative makeup can be. But I can see that some brands are promoting this and are thinking differently. Once a major brand does this, I’m pretty sure the rest will follow!
What inspires you?
My parents, my surroundings and colour.
Who is your beauty muse?
I’d say Thuy Le. Her beauty work is nothing like mine, but I absolutely admire her work ethic. Ever since she popped up on my social media channels last year, she has been able to push herself to the point where she is one of the biggest Influencers around. I remember a while back, she mentioned in her YouTube videos that she got up at 4am just to get looks done before work. Now not everyone can say that they can do that seven days a week. She motivates me to continue pushing myself at all times.
How do you stay healthy, body and mind?
I’d like to say I go to the gym enough but I don’t ☺ But I love having long showers, walks and writing down thoughts. Doodling keeps my mind at ease too.
Beauty is....
Your own perception, it is about discovering your own authentic you. It’s about not being afraid of who you are and living your best life. Beauty is about not comparing yourself to anyone and loving yourself unconditionally, warts and all.
Would you share an early beauty memory or a biggest beauty mistake with us?
Using a chunky black eye pencil to create my eyeliner. Let’s just say it took me a while to realise it didn’t look very cute.
What’s your signature beauty look?
An eye pop! Whether it’s a bright coloured eyeliner, eyeshadow or even a lipstick, I need a pop of colour around my eyes. Without it, I don’t feel complete. When I’m in a rush but still want a bit of a dazzle, I get my NYX Vivid Bright eyeliners out and place a few fun lines and dots across my eyes and then I’m ready to smash the day!
If you could only Slapp on one beauty product, what would it be?
Coloured eyeliner if that wasn’t too obvious ☺
What’s next for you?
I’m creating as many opportunities for myself as possible. Whether it’s creating visual content, modelling, makeup artistry, creative direction or exhibitions, I’m being proactive as possible and just enjoying the journey. I can’t wait to see where all this colour and sparkle will take me.