Chloë James

Fashion and beauty editor at CORQ. Interested in beauty, films and lifestyle. Overly interested in skincare, Star Wars and theme parks. Bylines in The Independent, Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Grazia.

CORQ •

Meet the inaugural Miss Influencer: the Middle Eastern model trialling if overnight success can equal longevity

Miss Influencer has its winner. On December 3, model and TV presenter Mayada Baghdady was crowned champion of the world’s first influencer pageant – outperforming hundreds of other creators to secure a 100,000 AED (£22,000) cash prize, one year’s accommodation in Ramee Dream Hotel, a Mazda CX-30, and a magazine cover with Victor Magazine. The brainchild of entrepreneur and former model Lilla Bolyki, Miss Influencer was designed as a training camp for budding influencers. Baghdady is test subjec
Digital Spy •

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker failed to learn from Avengers: Endgame’s big sacrifice

As the second cinematic saga to wrap up in 2019, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker had a lot to live up to. It’s impossible to find an ending that pleases everyone, but Avengers: Endgame came pretty close, becoming the biggest movie of all time. Meanwhile, standing at 52% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Rise of Skywalker sent the Skywalker Saga out with the worst-reviewed movie in the whole franchise – and that's including The Phantom Menace.
Cosmopolitan Middle East •

Guide to facial fillers: 5 questions to ask your doctor

If we had to name the crowning jewel of cosmetic treatments, it would be facial fillers. From plumping lips to defining the jawline, there’s not much this injectable can’t do – and thanks to the ‘Zoom boom’, demand for filler sky-rocketed over the pandemic. But video chat isn’t the only thing responsible for our sudden desire to go under the needle. A shift in attitude towards cosmetic treatments means we’re talking about facial fillers with more honesty – and accuracy – than ever.
CORQ •

The TikTok scandal surrounding Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Baylis-Zullo's game The Girls Bathroom

Few people can say they thrived in 2020, but Sophia Tuxford and Cinzia Baylis-Zullo are the exceptions. The vlogging duo – who first started building their YouTube empire in 2014 – have gone from strength to strength over the past year, overhauling their aesthetic, racking up a combined Instagram following of 822K+, and reaching ten million listeners with their podcast, The Girls Bathroom, which is set to go on tour this winter. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, the name tells you everyth
The Independent •

Does carbon theory soap actually work for oily skin? We put it to the test

When I say I have oily skin, I don’t just mean I get a bit of dewiness towards the end of the day. I mean my skin is so oily that, if I let my meticulously structured skincare routine slip even slightly, my complexion will be so greasy that no make-up stands a chance of staying put longer than 20 minutes. It’s that kind of oily. Of course, excessive shine isn’t the only downside to oily skin. Having smugly sailed through my teenage years with a clear complexion, adult acne hit me hard when I en
CORQ •

Kyra destroyed itself on YouTube - but its former roster has devout fans

It took the best part of a year, but from the remains of Kyra’s former fashion show PAQ, a new YouTube channel has emerged. Dexter Black – one quarter of the production company’s most successful show prior to it ending in June 2020 – announced his solo channel at the end of April, setting a countdown to his first video on the page. Back in its heyday, both PAQ and Kyra had the UK’s YouTube streetwear community in a chokehold. PAQ and its female counterpart NAYVA were fronted by four friends, fe
CORQ •

TikTok’s backlash to Chanel’s beauty advent calendar is a lesson for luxury brands on the app

On Tuesday, Chanel took to Instagram to unveil its latest project – a short film showcasing its Métiers d’art collection. The response was overwhelming, but probably not in the way the fashion house envisioned. Instead of praising the visuals, clothes, or sheer cataclysm of luxury, comments had one thing to say: advent calendar. Anyone up to date with social media scandals could see it coming. Last week, Elise Harmon used TikTok to share an unboxing of Chanel’s first ever advent calendar. Price
The Independent •

We review the Dyson supersonic hair dryer to see if its worth the £300 price tag

No hair dryer is as iconic as the Dyson supersonic. Launched in 2016, the brand’s first adventure in beauty was the result of $71 million worth of research as they set out to create a totally new drying experience. “New” was definitely the right word for it. The Dyson supersonic looks different to any other hair dryer on the market. With an internal motor, the design alone sets it apart from its competitors – it looks like something plucked from the future.
CORQ •

Beauty's biggest YouTubers are highly problematic yet always survive scandal

You can hardly move for YouTuber apologies at the moment, and the latest to join their ranks is beauty guru James Charles. Known for his bold and colourful style of makeup, the 21-year-old vlogger faced up to a new round of child grooming accusations in his latest video, “holding myself accountable”. More a confession than an actual apology, this saw James admit to sending sexually explicit messages to two 16-year-old boys.
The Independent •

11 best chemical peels that exfoliate, brighten and smooth skin

For those new to the game, chemical peels sound like something that belongs in a science lab and not your skincare drawer. But don’t let that put you off – many at-home peels are surprisingly gentle and can transform your skin in a matter of minutes. Despite the name, peels don’t literally leave you snake-like and shedding layers of skin. Instead they typically use a range of alpha and beta hydroxy acids (also known as AHAs and BHAs) and other exfoliating ingredients to gently lift the dirt...
CORQ •

When it comes to Sia's debut film Music, she should have listened to Twitter

When Cats was released at the end of 2019, the response was so overwhelmingly negative that audiences walked out of screenings en masse and Universal Pictures instantly binned all campaigns for award season. So hated was the film that some even suggested coronavirus was the universe’s way of punishing us for putting it out into the world. And yet, this isn’t the most hated film of the past few years.
CORQ •

Fan fiction has been reborn by TikTok, creating a new kind of influencer

Writing a book is both my biggest dream and my worst nightmare because one day, inevitably, someone will ask me when I first started writing fiction and I’ll have to explain that it all began with a 180,000 word epic about the forbidden romance of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. As a teenager in the early 2010s, fan fiction was massive, but a secret – something kept to your Tumblr blog and an already outdated LiveJournal page, never discussed in real life.
CORQ •

Dear the ASA, the damage being caused by filters isn't just happening in ads

Seven months after its inception, the #FilterDrop campaign reached a huge milestone on February 3rd – it tightened regulation of filter use on social media. Its creator, Sasha Louise Pallari, cried on Instagram. The model and makeup artist originally launched the campaign as a hashtag encouraging fellow influencers to ditch face-altering filters in the hopes of seeing more “real skin” on social media.
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