Rihanna on Why Lil' Kim Is Her Ultimate '90s Beauty Icon
Quote:
More than a decade before Rihanna arrived at the 2014 CFDA Awards in only a smattering of fishnet crystals and a prayer, there was Lil’ Kim and her sequined pastie seen round the world on the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards red carpet. The rapper’s legendary risk-taking move—coupled with her anything-goes approach to beauty, fashion, and music—left a lasting impression on a then-eleven-year-old Rihanna. “There are a lot of nineties supermodels that I love and I’m inspired by—but Lil’ Kim, for me, she had so many different looks,” said the pop star yesterday afternoon during the Brooklyn launch of her latest perfume, RiRi by Rihanna.
In more recent years, the modern-day chameleon has adopted her predecessor’s penchant for candy-colored wigs, lush furs, and risqué ensembles, but she next plans to pay homage to the music icon by bringing back one of her era’s beauty signatures: “Dark brown lipsticks and the metallic lipsticks with lip liner,” said Rihanna. “There’s a good and a bad way to do it, but back in the nineties they seemed to get it right.”
