Like everyone else, my pandemic has had its ups and downs. I am lucky to be able to work from home. This meant that I was able to focus on creating Kash Beauty and creating content. Normally there is a peak time for posting on social media, but now everyone is constantly on their phones, so every moment is a good time.
I did things like makeup challenges on TikTok to keep people and myself busy, which seems to have brought new people to my page. By January 2020, I had reached a million followers, and then it only took six months to gain another million. Now I am almost three million.
It’s funny, because if I had to think of three million people looking at me, I would run for the hills. So I have to try not to think about it, while remembering that there are people behind the numbers.
George michael. Photograph: Michael Putland / Getty
When I created my playlist, I turned to TikTok to jog my memory on all the songs I might have listened to during the pandemic. There were songs that obsessed me back then – like Megan Thee Stallion’s Savage, which was huge at the start of the pandemic – but I tend not to listen to them now.
For me, music is everything. We underestimate what good music can make us feel. I always listen to music while I put on makeup and the pandemic has made me more aware of how it can affect my mood. If I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, I put on my favorite song and that can change everything.
Browsing through my playlist, the songs I chose are the ones that make me feel like a bad bitch. If I drive my car I can yell at them. They’re the ones that release endorphins for me. I think it’s especially important now, when we were denied to hear music at concerts, to sing and dance.
Normally my boyfriend and I would go to concerts all the time. We had tickets for canceled or postponed shows like the Hella Mega Tour with Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy. We had tickets to Dua Lipa, and we had tickets to Coachella for the first time, so I’m angry, but I know it will happen again eventually.
I tend to like pop with a rock twist and a dash of hip hop, but I have a varied musical taste, and I can become obsessed with songs that are outside my usual range, be it a random country song. or a rap song. I have become so obsessed with songs that everyone around me has had enough of them. My boyfriend always laughs because I could play a really heavy song and then play Shania Twain, and he will complain that there is no model there.
Miley Cyrus. Photograph: Alberto E Rodriguez / Getty
I included two of George Michael’s songs because I love it. He was my first crush, and I was devastated when I found out he was gay… like I had a chance anyway. I also named my dog after him: his name is George. Careless Whisper and Freedom are so iconic, but overall the songs I chose weren’t necessarily the great singles, like with Miley Cyrus’ Plastic Hearts. I always wonder how artists choose their singles – when you listen to their entire album you often find real gems that are much better.
There are also a few Queen songs in there. I love that Freddie Mercury is so shameless himself, and doesn’t care what other people think. Every time I listen to it, I feel this. I wonder why we worry about stupid things when we can be a mean person and live our lives that way.
Freddie Mercury. Photograph: Dave Hogan / Getty
It’s the same with YungBlud. He also embodies living his life as he sees fit. It seems to me that I am drawn to artists like that, and it is something that I look for in my own life. Even Miley Cyrus is like that – how many times has she changed over the years, and people are trying to topple her, but I love it; it inspires me.
I am furious that WAP by Cardi B came out during the pandemic. I feel like we were robbed because we couldn’t get out and dance on it. Maybe that was a good thing, actually – we would have put on a show of ourselves on the dance floor. – As said to Shilpa Ganatra
