Pal-ing around with Solange, perched atop her BK fire escape in a swingy, flower-embellished Tanya Taylor top, flying around the world (she had just gotten home from China the day we shot this)—if Kitty Cash is up to something, we want to know about it. Especially if it involves exploring the Bed-Stuy neighborhood she calls home. A lifelong Brooklynite (she grew up around Ditmas Park), it’s safe to say by now that Cash has the borough down—and so for us, there’s no one better to have play tour guide (if tour guides ditched their fanny packs in favor of a wardrobe of brightly-hued Make Up For Ever lipsticks) for us.
We started off our morning at her place, thumbing through her copy of Frank Ocean’s zine, Boys Don’t Cry, as the DJ got ready for the day, before making our way through a laundry list of her local haunts. One lipstick and outfit change later, and it was off to Brunswick Coffee for fuel, a little wandering around, before stopping off at Lover’s Rock/C’mon Everybody for the night while Cash rehearsed her set. If you didn’t have a reason to cross the bridge already (what is this, 1999?), you certainly do now.
“I grew up in Ditmas Park, but I currently live in Bed-Stuy. I’ve been there for about a year and change now. Suddenly, all of my friends have moved here too! Everybody is like seven minutes away from each other, and I love that.
“I think Bed-Stuy has this really cool, young, creative vibe. There are a lot of cute restaurants and bars, little low-key hangout spots. I love that I can get soul food if I go in one direction, or go to a fancy date night spot if I go in another.
“On a perfect day, I'd get up and go to brunch. I'd probably go to Peaches—they do Southern comfort food. Brunswick Coffee is great too. I love the grilled cheese.
“For day, makeup-wise, I like to do a nice, neutral pink. Something that's bold enough to transition from day to night. I love to look glowy and dewy, but I'll always keep my lipstick matte.
“After hitting brunch, I'll head somewhere like the Brooklyn Museum. Or I'll hear about a block party nearby—there's always something going on. My weekends are one big mix of eating and drinking, mixed in with museums or a party [laughs]. I'll hop around from spot to spot. I like to mix it up!
“Lover's Rock is this super cute, small bar in the neighborhood I love to go to. I always run into someone I know there.
“I'm a DJ, so I'm always on the lookout for new artists whose music I can work into a set. There’s this place called C'mon Everybody on Franklin, where a lot of cool up-and-coming artists are performing. I go to shows there all the time.
“Sometimes I'll throw a darker lip color in my bag if I want to change things up before the end of the night. I play around a lot with lip color. I'll do a lavender, burgundy, even a deep brown. That's where I take the biggest risks.
“To me, living in Brooklyn is all about the little things—like the deli owner you’ve known since you were five, because you lived and you grew up in the neighborhood, you don’t have to tell him your coffee order because he knows what you want from the moment you walk in the door. I think that’s what makes Brooklyn feel like Brooklyn.”
Kitty Cash is wearing Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick in M101 Caramel Beige, C503 Mauve Violet, and C506 Dark Purple. Pretty, right? Find your shade (and then some) at Sephora.com (where else?).