Saweetie is a Grammy-nominated rapper who’s had platinum-selling, chart-toppping hits, but her signature look — three-inch acrylic nails, artistically crafted baby hairs and over-the-top lashes — inspires nearly as much online chatter as her music. The comments don’t rule her.
“I see people on [social media] not liking my lashes. I love me some thick lashes, and I’m never going to change that,” Saweetie said in Us Weekly’s first Colorful Like Us feature — a new interview series that explores the evolving relationship women of color have with the beauty industry and how it has shaped their identity.
The 30-year-old California native, born Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, gets that confidence from her mother, Trinidad Valentin, a video vixen of the early 2000s (she famously appeared in Nelly’s 2001 “Ride Wit Me” music video), who stressed the importance of skincare and beauty that comes from the inside out.
“She taught me how to clean my skin properly with the necessary tools,” Saweetie said. “People laugh at me, because if you spend the night at my house, you’ll see it takes me an hour to get ready for bed. It’s sacred for my skin.”
The product of an African American father and Filipina-Chinese mother, Saweetie also credits stars like Kimora Lee Simmons — a fellow “Blasian baddie” — for making her feel seen growing up.
Saweetie spent most of her formative years rocking a bare face, learning to love her natural appearance with the help of brands like Clean & Clear and Neutrogena. Until college, she said, her go-to glow only included lip gloss and a hydrated face (“I would collect the $1 lip glosses at the beauty supply store. I used to have a box full of hella lip gloss”). But once she began playing around with makeup, the “Icy Girl” rapper saw the power in good glam.
She considers makeup therapeutic — “When I’m having a bad day, I’ll just beat my face while listening to my song ‘My Type’” — and encourages others to look at beauty the same way.
“Anyone who tells someone they ‘look better without makeup’ is out of pocket,” she said. “Women should do whatever they want that makes them feel good. If you’re a natural girl, do a natural look. Never let someone tell you what they ‘prefer’ on you.”
Most importantly, she wants to set an example that true beauty lies underneath the skin.
The USC graduate was recently invited to speak at her alma mater, where a student pulled her aside afterward and presented her own admission letter. “She told me that I gave her inspiration,” Saweetie said. “I realized my purpose is to inspire whatever it is anyone wants to do because a true ‘Icy Girl’ is a hustler, she goes after her dreams.”
