Adut Akech: From star model to global beauty ambassador with Estée Lauder
Beauty‘This is a great time to show the world more of who I am,’ says new Estée Lauder ambassador Adut Akech.
By Celia Ellenberg
When Adut Akech began modeling professionally at the tender age of 16, she had an unfortunate introduction to the industry: 'My hair burned,' recalls the runway star, now 21 and has born in South Sudan, at a time not too long ago when it was rare to have a like-minded hairstylist or makeup artist on set or backstage: 'Our hair doesn't need heat and everyone started straightening it. So I shaved my head, I went bald,' she continues Akech of a formative beauty decision that empowered her and helped cement her catwalk status. "Now I know how to say: No, this is not the right shade for my skin or: No, this does not work with my hair." Their platform to help make these kinds of breakthroughs just got bigger. Today, Akech becomes the new global brand ambassador for Estée Lauder.
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— BBPhotoKid Tue Jun 08 14:27:15 +0000 2021
The circumstances surrounding Adut Akech's unlikely path to fashion stardom are well-known territory by now; After spending her early childhood in the UN-run Kakuma (Kenya) refugee camp, she moved to Adelaide (Australia) when she was about seven years old, which is where she was finally signed as a model. "My mother and aunts only used natural oils and homemade moisturizers, so they taught me at an early age the simplicity of not doing too much, but taking skin care seriously," she tells me on the patio outside of a hotel room in downtown New York, her barely glossy lips and oft-photographed cheekbones glowing in a caramel satin Rosetta Getty gown. Right now in Los Angeles, where she moved to earlier this year, Akech admits that, like many Gen Zers, she went through a '10-step skincare routine' phase, which has recently been whittled down to a handful of staples for the brand she is now an ambassador for. "When I find something that works for my skin, I stick with it," she says of her "absolute favorites," like the brand's DayWear Anti-Oxidant 72H-Hydration Crème SPF 15 ("I really like the SPF," she says ). 'I used to think that because I have darker skin I didn't have to wear sunscreen, but that's not true! I really like it,' says Akech of the multi-tasking mascara as a base or top coat, which helped tint and condition her lashes when she stopped wearing extensions. “Makeup has always been a lot of fun for me,” says Akech, describing her early appreciation for colored eyeshadow, which grew from watching her two older sisters adjust to Australian culture and, of course, YouTube. ('Thank god for YouTube,' she quips. 'Watching makeup and cooking tutorials is my thing.')
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By Vogue Editorial
The video-sharing platform was actually her first contact with Estée Lauder, who hooked young Akech with well-placed ads; the second was her on an international flight when she had just started traveling as a model: 'I was going through the duty free and they had one of the biggest billboards in the airport'. The parallels between the size of Lauder's global impact and the magnitude of Akech's contract are there for the occasion. Despite her meteoric rise, Akech had remained without a role in the wide-ranging beauty world, a career milestone that often comes with publishing success. This has made her a major acquisition for the North American brand, which adds the star power that is Akech to a successful model roster that includes Karlie Kloss, Grace Elizabeth and Carolyn Murphy, whose face was only known to Akech in size. advertisement; when they met in person on the set of her first campaign for the brand—a group ad for her Double Wear foundation franchise, due out in July—Akech wept. 'I was nervous, but everyone was very welcoming and friendly. I feel very proud to be part of an amazing and very welcoming family. It's a great time to show the world more of who I am.'
Article originally published on Vogue.com
