Whether you are new to the fashion and beauty industry or a veteran, you know Kahlana Barfield Brown.
The Seattle native and Howard University graduate broke barriers in the fashion and beauty editorial scene long before the advent of social media and lifestyle blogging. For almost a decade, she’s been behind the curtain at InStyle magazine serving in various roles, while personally influencing beauty and fashion trends. Now, Brown is switching gears and stepping in front of the cameras on her own terms as a television correspondent and fashion and beauty expert.
We spoke with Brown about how she came to fashion and her journey in the editorial business, as well as her fight for diversity and inclusivity.
Image: Instagram
From an early age, Brown knew she wanted to be in the beauty and fashion industry. She recalls weekends with her grandmother and sisters, as they would spend hours shopping and getting their hair and nails done. Brown accredits her grandmother for instilling in her the importance of taking pride in her appearance, the power of first impressions and eventually her career in fashion.
“That has been something that has stuck with me my entire life and I would use clothes, makeup, hair, nails, fashion as a way to self-express,” Brown told Blavity. “And then I moved to Howard for college and majored in journalism and minored in fashion merchandising.”
Image: Instagram
Brown began her career as an intern for InStyle magazine. Once she was hired full-time, she served as the assistant beauty editor. She then assumed the position of beauty director, and was then promoted to fashion and beauty editor-at-large for InStyle.
Brown made a name for herself in the beauty and fashion world before digital platforms started competing with print magazines. Social media and fashion bloggers began to infiltrate in the industry, but that was not going to stop Brown from continuing to do what she loved.
“I always thought that you either adapt to change or you get left behind,” said Brown. “Editors didn’t see [fashion bloggers] coming and weren’t able or want[ed] to adapt to. I feel like in anything that you’re doing you should be authentic self, so I just had to share more about my job.”
Brown knew there was something she could do to help change the digital landscape. Through the encouragement of friends she began to organically build her following by sharing her experiences and daily life as a fashion and beauty editor.
The more she shared about her daily life in the beauty and fashion world, the more interest she found for the type of content she was producing. Eventually her freelance work and personal brand were large enough for her to take a leap of faith and pursue her own brand full time after leaving InStyle in 2018.
She’s most excited about her new false eyelash line in partnership with Huda Beauty — a continuation of her mission to break even more barriers of entry in a field where inequality is still rampant. The product, called The Kahlana #21, recently hit Sephora shelves and sits next to some of her staple products the beauty store offers like the NARS velvet matte lip pencils and Marc Jacobs eyeliner.
In addition to Huda Beauty, she Brown has collaborated with brands like Uber, T.J. Maxx, Armani Beauty, and Shiseido.
“It’s been great. I think what I love so much about my experience in the beauty industry is that I’ve been able to be on both sides,” Brown said. “I've been able to be in the days where it was strictly editorial to now being able to experience the digital and social world.”
You can’t deny Brown’s influence, either. With a whirlwind year full of opportunities, Brown has made sure to never conform and aims to find brands she can collaborate with authentically. Her collaboration with Huda Beauty was born from her discovering that eyelash extensions were pulling out her natural lashes, causing her to revert to eyelash strips.
“We worked on them for a year, it’s the perfect everyday lash that gives you the glam but still feels natural,” Brown told Blavity. “I do think lashes are a game-changer in terms of feeling put together and just looking more awake.”
Image: Instagram
As a full-time personal brand Brown admits, just as the beauty industry evolves so has her relationship with beauty. Brown highlights her commitment to providing the same authenticity and integrity in her personal beauty projects as she did as an editor. Her goal is to use her platform to communicate directly with consumers and help them navigate the beauty space.
“Being able to work as a beauty editor to help women navigate through this space and learn about their skin, their hair, what products really work for them, to help build confidence in that way — that has been an honor for me and a privilege,” she said.
Having spent years as one of the few black beauty editors in the industry, Brown saw firsthand the reluctance that brands had to cater to a wider range of makeup shades. She noticed too, that brands who did have a wider range failed to market them to the intended audience.
“If I don't see myself in your social media campaigns then to me it doesn't really feel like it’s for me,” Brown said. “Ri [Rihanna] was so smart when she launched Fenty and using women of all shades, women who look different. Every person, every image that you saw was like that’s my aunty, that’s my sister, that’s my cousin, that’s my friend.”
Image: Instagram
Brown sees a brighter future for the beauty industry. With the type of recognition Fenty Beauty receives and collaborations like Jackie Aina and Anastasia Beverly Hills, it is hoped that more brands will recognize the power and influence of black women.
“It’s going to continue to evolve,” said Brown. “Our people rock with us, we really set trends. You can’t deny that type of influence, period.”
