Nigerian author and celebrated feminist, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has been named is the new face of beauty and skincare product range, Boots No7.
The No7: READY to Speak Up campaign will launch on television, online, in print and in outdoor media on October 21, with Adichie speaking about how she used to fear being taken less seriously because of her love of make-up, but later came to embrace it as a tool, an enhancement and as part of her own identity.
Speaking in the November issue of Vogue magazine, Chimamanda said of the campaign: “I think much of beauty advertising relies on a false premise – that women need to be treated in an infantile way, given a ‘fantasy’ to aspire to…Real women are already inspired by other real women, so perhaps beauty advertising needs to get on board.”
Boots is not alone in recognising the draw of Adichie, whose much-celebrated TED talks have been sampled by Beyoncé and featured on T-shirts in Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut Dior show earlier this month.
“I love make-up and its wonderful possibilities for temporary transformation. And I also love my face after I wash it all off,” she said in a statement.
“There is something exquisitely enjoyable about seeing yourself with a self-made new look. And for me that look is deeply personal. It isn’t about what is in fashion or what the rules are supposed to be. It’s about what I like. What makes me want to smile when I look in the mirror. What makes me feel slightly better on a dull day. What makes me comfortable.”
Chimamanda, 37, is married and lives in the United States with her husband and child.
