The Zoe Report

Khalea Underwood

Bio

Khalea Underwood is Beauty Editor of The Zoe Report. She writes, edits, reports, and conceptualizes features and photoshoots on all things hair, makeup, skincare, nails, and fragrance. You can catch her lurking backstage at New York Fashion Week, picking up tips from artists and assistants or cornering models about their favorite SPF moisturizers. A proud graduate of Howard University, Khalea's bylines have also appeared on Refinery29, Us Weekly, College Candy, MTV, and the New York Daily News. She earned a Webby Awards 2019 nomination for Best Use Of Photography for a Refinery29 feature on the beauty of natural hair. When she's not swatching products or tweaking her four-step skincare routine, she enjoys decorating her new apartment, reading, shopping, and spending time with her family. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter @letsbeKHAlear.

10 Warm Fragrances That Always Get Me A Second Date

Without digging too deep into my personal life, I'm single. And have been since, well, forever. But for the first time in a long time, I'm perfectly fine with that — because honestly, I'd rather have fun dating around than to stay in a relationship…
By Khalea Underwood

6 New Nail Art Ideas To Try This Month

If you think about it, November is a time when your hands are truly on full display. You're preparing side dishes for Friendsgiving or perhaps going in for second helpings at Thanksgiving, and, more than likely, you're spending time picking out…
By Khalea Underwood

We Tested This Year’s Top New Fragrance Launches & These Are The 6 Best

Scent and memory are intertwined, as the brain's olfactory bulbs are the reason why we can't forget certain smells. Buttery popcorn, motor oil, freshly cut grass... you might not be around them, but reading the words are almost just as vivid as…
By Khalea Underwood

TZR Editors Are Obsessed With These 6 New Luxury Makeup Launches (& You Will Be Too)

The beautiful thing about, well... beauty? Its iterations are unique to everyone. My Friday night happy hour lipstick and sparkly eyeshadow combination, for example, might be someone else's midday grocery store run. Contouring might be a foreign…
By Khalea Underwood

Tracee Ellis Ross's Pattern Beauty Restocks Today — & She'd Love For You To Try It

Most people's brilliant ideas come to them in the shower. Tracee Ellis Ross, founder of Pattern Beauty, got hers from the shower — where her haircare routine happens. "My conditioning and washing relationship and time used to be a lot more, because…
By Khalea Underwood

Andie MacDowell On Fashion Industry Ageism: "I Thought It Was Over At 30"

Andie MacDowell is a woman inspired. Though the model and actress, 61, has seen plenty of fashion in her day (she caused a stir at Saint Laurent Spring 2020), she admits that she does just as much people watching as she does spectating on the front…
By Khalea Underwood

An Unconventional (Yet Beautiful) Way To Wear Flowers, C/O Giambattista Valli

You've heard the groundbreaking "flowers for spring?" reference probably far too many times to even count, maybe even on this very vertical (what can I say? Devil Wears Prada is one of my favorites). But believe me when I say that Giambattista…
By Khalea Underwood

The Biggest Makeup Trends That Happened At Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020

When someone says "French girl beauty," you likely have a perfect picture in your mind of what that looks like. It's a woman with perfect skin, brushed-up brows, and a shock of red lipstick, smudged just so that she looks like she spent the evening…
By Maria Del Russo and Khalea Underwood

This Runway Makeup Look Is Perfect For The Holiday Season

I typically hate it when people start talking about holidays in advance, especially when other monumental occasions haven't passed yet — but December will be here before we even realize. Fires will crackle, stockings will hang, and glitter makeup…
By Khalea Underwood

Pat McGrath Just Launched A New Palette Backstage At Paris Fashion Week — EXCLUSIVE

When it comes to dreamy, gorgeous shadow palettes, the legendary Pat McGrath pretty much has a corner on the market. She crafts colors that are trendy and editorial while also being incredibly accessible. So when The Zoe Report caught her backstage…
By Maria Del Russo and Khalea Underwood

It’s Raining At Paris Fashion Week, So Stylists Are Giving Models *This* Look

There's something almost poetic about Paris when it rains. Perhaps it's the way that the stormy clouds ensconce the majestic monuments, or seeing chic Parisians with umbrellas. During fashion month, however, is when the rain can be more problematic…
By Khalea Underwood

How To Perfect “Lived-In” Liner & Lips, Per Koche Spring/Summer 2020

If you're like me, fashion month gets a little bit confusing since the industry typically works a season ahead. Come fall and winter, you're looking at spring and summer trends, and vice versa. However, at Koche Spring/Summer 2020, the beauty look…
By Khalea Underwood

The Shimmery Eyeshadow Look To Try If You Hate Glitter, Courtesy Of Giorgio Armani

You wouldn't necessarily place the house of Armani in the "experimental" category — because honestly, you don't have to. The legacy of the brand speaks for itself, and the makeup at presentations, in return, is just as classic. But not in the era of…
By Khalea Underwood

Why You Should Be "Soaping" Your Eyebrows, According To Moschino Spring/Summer 2020

Moschino, in its graffiti-patterned and heavily logo-ed glory, is always a wildcard show during Milan Fashion Week. You don't know what you'll get — which is actually kind of the fun part in watching. So when I descended up the steps of the Palazzo…
By Khalea Underwood

The Genius Prada Ponytail Hack To Try ASAP

For a roving reporter, nailing down who the Prada girl is can prove to be difficult. One season, you'll get sleek and soft. And during another, you'll get beach blonde dye jobs. For Prada's Spring/Summer 2020 beauty look though, lead artists Pat…
By Khalea Underwood

Why Pat McGrath Created 60 — Yes, 60 — Makeup Looks At Marc Jacobs Spring/Summer 2020

Any New York Fashion Week marathoner knows that the black-and-white checkered flag always waves over Marc Jacobs. And any beauty lover knows that the glam is always unexpected — you might get a dye job (35 of them!) or perhaps no makeup-makeup. What…
By Khalea Underwood

Oscar De La Renta's Spring/Summer 2020 Makeup Looks *Very* Different Than Normal

Although most of my fashion week duty is back of house, I always try to stick around to get a sneak peek at Oscar de la Renta — the show always brings a touch of otherworldly glamour to the runway, in an era where everyone is competing to outdo each…
By Khalea Underwood

Tom Ford's Spring/Summer 2020 Beauty Look Was Surprisingly — & Refreshingly — Edgy

Tom Ford is chic. Tom Ford is sexy. Tom Ford is classic. This is well-known. But what I didn't know, right before walking backstage at the Sept. 9 show, is how versatile the brand can get. (I mean, the show was held in a New York City subway,…
By Khalea Underwood

The Grown-Up Way To Wear Glitter, As Seen At NYFW Spring/Summer 2020

Maybe it's my inner three-year-old peeking out, but to me, there's never not an inopportune time for sparkles. Which is why I'm thrilled that glitter eyeshadow looks are trending on the New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2020 runways, and in a very…
By Khalea Underwood

Sorry, Line Designs — French Manicures Are Officially Back In Style

I've got a few fashion month seasons under my belt, and I can tell you firsthand that surprises are abundant — like backstage celebrity sightings (hey, Luka Sabbat) and 35 dye jobs in one day (here's to you, Marc Jacobs). But the trend that's got my…
By Khalea Underwood