Face Time with Chantz Brewer

I have so many wonderful and amazing women friends and when conceptualizing my blog I knew that at some point I wanted to highlight each of them, what they do and of course their beauty routine. Beauty as a whole and our particular daily and weekly rituals are a constant topic of discussion — whether while on gchat at work or on Saturday’s at brunch. For the first installment of “Face Time,” I sat down with my beautiful friend Chantz Brewer to discuss what it’s like being an entertainment publicist, some of her favorite beauty brands and how she maintains healthy hair.

Hey girl! Of course I already know, but please tell the people what it is you do?

I’m an Entertainment Publicist. I work with different celebrities and do publicity for a variety of TV shows and films. I also work with brands from time to time and organize red carpets for various events.

About how long have you been doing this and have you always wanted a career in PR?

I’ve been doing this for about 5 years now (omg I’m old!) and I’ve wanted to be a publicist since my Junior year in high school. I remember Lil Wayne getting into some legal trouble around that time and I told my mom I wanted to be the person who spoke for him and other celebrities. After doing my research I found out the proper title for the job was Publicist and ever since then it’s been my dream job.

What’s one of the highlights or your favorite moment of your career to-date?

That is such a hard question to answer! I’ve been so blessed to work in a field I truly enjoy that I’ve had a lot of “favorite” experiences over the years, plus I don’t like to give too much away about my clients but I’ll try to answer your question as best I can. One of the most rewarding experiences for me was working with a client who won a Golden Globe and an Oscar Award for their work. It was truly an amazing experience and very rewarding (even if you’re not the one with the “trophy”). It was a moment where I really felt that all of my (and the teams) hard work paid off and the sleepless nights were worth it.

Okay, down to the beauty stuff! Give me a breakdown of your weekly or day-to-day skincare routine? What I love about you is that you generally keep a very minimal / clean face. Your skin is amazing

Thank you so much for the compliments! I’ve been looking at my skin lately in horror. I haven’t been treating it the way I should and need to get back on my regular routine that I’ll explain now.

My day-to-day routine is very simple.

In the morning, I wash my face as soon as I wake up. I use regular Dove Soap. and moisturize with Eucerin Skin Calming Creme. Because I have a history of sensitive and dry skin I try to keep it simple to start my day. Fast forward to getting ready for bed, depending on if I wore makeup or not(most times I don’t, I’m lazy haha!) I usually use Neutrogena makeup remover cleaning towelettes to take the makeup off and then I get a little fancy and instead of the dove soap I use my FAVORITE face wash, the Glacial Face Wash With White Willow Bark By skyn ICELAND. It is truly amazing and makes my skin feel super refreshed! Following the face wash I use a product called Bio-Oil on my blemishes. It contains PurCellin Oil which helps improve the appearance of scars, dehydrated skin and uneven skin tones. To moisturize I stick to my Eucerin Skin Calming Creme, it’s clearly my go-to.

Every week I try to do a mask, lip scrub and use a body scrub. My favorite mask is the skyn ICELAND’s (I’m obviously obsessed with this brand) Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud. Theres 2 steps, the first is applying a blue clay all over my face and then an activating gel until the blend starts to effervesce. I massage it together to activate the two formulations into a warming foam. I leave it on my skin for 10-15 minutes and then wipe with a damp washcloth.

The lip scrub I use is the Brown Sugar Lip Scrub by Sara Happ. It’s literally a body scrub specifically for your lips and it’s amazing and super simple to use. I massage a generous amount of the scrub to my lips using a firm, circular motion and wipe away with a tissue. It literally makes my lips feel rejuvenated and brand new haha!

The body scrub I use is the Exfoliating Vanilla Sugar Body Scrub by Skinny & Co. It contains Skinny & Co. Coconut Oil, Organic Almond Oil and a proprietary blend of essential oils. It literally gets rid of all the dry skin on my entire body and leaves my skin amazingly smooth!

What are some of your favorite beauty brands? Any we’d least expect that you love?

Obviously skyn ICELAND is a favorite! Hmmm one that you wouldn’t expect, I guess the Dove soap and Eucerin skin calming creme. They’re super basic but is what keeps my skin fresh everyday.

Have you ever gotten any beauty advice from some of the celebs you work with? If so, who and what was it?

Yes, from Kelly Rowland but I can’t give the secrets away ha! Just look out for her new beauty line titled F.A.C.E (For All Created Equal), it’s specifically for women of color! (shameless PR plug haha!)

Tell me about some of the products you brought with you today?

I brought all the products mentioned in my routine and I also brought a skin hangover pack. Working the way we do sometimes we fall off of our routine and need too pull out all the stops to rejuvenate our skin. The skin hangover pack by skyn ICELAND was created as a solution to stressed skin, it’s an emergency relief kit for the face and eyes. The pack contains their Fresh Face Mask, Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels, an Icelandic Relief Eye Pen and a cooling daily lotion called The ANTIDOTE. It’s kind of like an at home mini facial. I actually should do this soon!

Okay so, almost every day you try to convince me to get a weave because you’ve said it really helps protect your hair. You’ve been natural all your life and literally have the most healthy hair I’ve seen. Do you owe it to protective styles?

HA! You need to go ahead and get you a weave girl and stop playing. Best decision you’ll make, TRUST ME!

Yes, I have been natural all my life and even though I never wore a weave until college I think protective styles did play a major roll in keeping my hair healthy. Because I was so active growing up my mother kept me in braids, twist and cornrows. But I have to admit that I’ve had my fair share of heat as well. I was one of those girls who got her hair pressed every two weeks. NEVER missed an appointment unless I was in a protective style (which wasn’t often after middle school) so my curl pattern is fucked!

I’ve learned over the years that ladies who grow up in California are used to getting there hair done with a pressing comb to keep it straight instead of getting a perm. It all boils down to the weather, in California we have dry heat so our pressed/flat ironed hair tends to last longer than it would in humid regions which is why women who live elsewhere don’t bother with getting their hair pressed and go straight for perms because it last longer and is less stressful

It’s KIND of getting warm out — so our beauty routines are going to change up a bit. How do you modify what you do in the winter for spring / summer? Hair and makeup-wis

I usually wear my natural hair straight in the winter because it’s easier. In the summer I usually go for a weave, natural curly style or a protective style so I don’t have to worry about it as much.

This summer I’m thinking of jumping on the wig bandwagon so I don’t have to do a damn thing, but I’m nervous!

Makeup wise my skin tone changes drastically from winter to summer, so I usually switch the shade and brands with the seasons. In the winter I stick with my NARS liquid foundation which I love but I think is too heavy for NY summers. Last summer I discovered tinted moisturizer and instantly became obsessed (I’ve been begging you to try it!). My favorite brand is Laura Mercier’s broad spectrum tinted moisturizer, which also contains SPF 20. The tinted moisturizer gives me full coverage without the heaviness of a foundation. I never feel like my makeup is melting off of my face which was my problem with foundations in unbelievably hot weather. .

Who is your black girl beauty idol?

Kelly Rowland! Her skin is flawless and I’ve seen it in person, ugh gorgeous!

Leave us with some pearls of wisdom — what’s some beauty advice you’d like to share with other black women?

I think the gems I would like to leave you and other black women with is YOUR SKIN IS BEAUTIFUL and don’t let society tell you any different. Oh and if all else fails, don’t forget about cocoa butter and coconut oil. Our moms and grandmas were right, leaves the skin oily and smooth!