By Wanique Block
South African makeup and special effects artist, Babalwa Mtshiselwa has redefined the definition of African beauty on the set of The Woman King.
Starring Viola Davis and South Africa’s very own Thuso Mbedu, The Woman King tells the tale of an all-female group of warriors who are protecting the kingdom of Dahomey.
The film sheds light on sisterhood, power, wealth, and beauty.
This is evident through the depiction of their hairstyles, costume design, and skin abrasions.
Taking interest in the stories of African women, it’s no surprise that Babalwa got the call to do the makeup and special effects (prosthetics) for the star-studded film.
“It’s a dream come true. I’ve been dedicated to telling, hearing, and learning stories about really powerful African women. It just came out of interest, and I really was hoping that the preparation was for something. And then I got The Women King, and I was like, this is exactly what it was for”, Babalwa tells Hello Beautiful.
With this Babalwa has made it her means to redefine the notion of African beauty, thus placing emphasis on the beauty aspect of cleanliness and war wounds.
“It’s a very African thing to be clean, tidy, and beautiful. For me, the most important thing, especially when you’re dealing with Black skin, is to make it look as flawless as possible. A major thing for me was to make sure everyone looked completely natural but really beautiful and flawless. The second thing was to honour the fact that the women were warriors had battle scars, and they were proud of every scar they got from battle and from training”, she said.
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