Amelia Dimoldenberg On Chicken Shop Date, Skincare & Being Self-Critical

You may recognise Amelia Dimoldenberg, 28, from her epic and insanely successful YouTube series called Chicken Shop Date, where she invites guests such as Jack Harlow, Maya Jama, Jade Thirlwall, and even Ed Sheeran to sit down for a hilarious, awkward but somehow still romantic chat at different chicken/takeaway spots across the UK.

Although she confesses that her character in the series is an exaggeration of her own personality, Amelia herself is full of character, wit, and charm when she sits down with GLAMOUR at the Albright Mayfair to talk about a different kind of shop…

Beyond her passion for comedy, Amelia loves a skincare sesh. She has just been announced as the newest Olay ambassador. We’ve been dying to know exactly what Amelia puts on her skin and good news, she's up for us rifling through her small, but mighty stash.

For Amelia, beauty never felt like currency. Growing up, she always prioritised using her pocket money to buy games over makeup and although her knowledge of skincare was fairly basic, these days, her upgraded skincare routine also doubles as self-care. Here, she discusses all things comedy vs being a hot girl, her biggest beauty disasters, and glazed donut skin…

I may not the most beautiful person in the world, but maybe I'm one of the funniest…

“My best trick to help stop intrusive thoughts is probably doing exercise and doing it regularly. I find that when I'm exercising, the intrusive thoughts just don't enter my head as much because I'm doing something about it. I never used to exercise before, but now I do and it does all the things that people say about it. Another thing that I'm trying to do more is to remember that your value is more than your beauty. Thinking otherwise can be so damaging. It's why you're so critical of yourself when actually once you believe that you have other value, then you're gonna feel so much better. I may not be the most beautiful person in the world, but maybe I'm one of the funniest. So, you know, you have to remember that. That's what I'm trying to do more myself, to remember that being beautiful isn't the most important thing.”

Being funny and being hot are not mutually exclusive concepts…

“When I started chicken shop date, it was because I wanted to be the antithesis of those glamorous presenters – and no shade to them, they're amazing, I’m a fan of all of them – but that's not who I am. So I was like, ‘okay, should I pretend to be that person? Or can I lean into my awkwardness and the fact that I don't wear a full face of makeup, or that I don't know what to do with my hair?' In that sense, although the pressure was there, I feel like I did a good job at not leaning into it too much. Working within comedy as well, there's always a war in my head between being funny and then being hot. They usually don't go hand in hand for women because it’s almost like you’re not allowed to be both.” 

Are people ashamed to call me attractive?

“The backhanded comments don’t help. I’m always tagged on comments like, ‘I'm not afraid to say that I fancy Amelia’ but why would you be in the first place. Maybe it’s because the character that I play is weird and awkward. But society’s spectrum of what is deemed attractive is very small. It actually needs to be widened. That's probably why people get confused because they're like, ‘oh, why would I find her attractive if she doesn't fit this certain stereotype of what's hot?’. Saying that, I'm also very aware that I fit into many beauty standards, and I see the privilege that comes with that.”

When you're younger, you can just be so critical of yourself…

“Growing up I was never too self-critical, but I always thought that my ears were too big – my ears and my forehead – I always wanted them to shrink. I've grown into my ears and my forehead as time goes on, but when I was younger, I had very big ears for my head. Actually, I used to say that I wanted to get my ears pinned back and my hairline moved forward, or get like a hair transplant, but now they're two of my favourite features about myself. When you're younger, (or at any age really) you can just be so critical of yourself. Luckily, I’ve always been brought up by my mum and my dad always telling me that I was beautiful.”

When people compliment you, listen to them…

“You are always so self-critical of things that most people have never thought about you. For example as I mentioned above, mine being my ears and my forehead – these are things people probably never, ever thought about because they don't see you the way that you see yourself. There are people in your life probably every day that compliment you on something to do with your appearance, whether on social media or in real life. I think the issue is, it's not that people aren't getting complimented it's that you are not listening to what they're saying. You need to trust them.”

My 18th birthday look was jet-black hair, thin, thin eyebrows, and huge fake eyelashes…

“I’ve made a lot of bad beauty decisions in my teens. I look back at my 18th birthday party – I had jet-black hair, thin, thin eyebrows, and huge fake eyelashes with American Apparel disco shorts. I used to work at American apparel, so my whole wardrobe was always just American apparel with suspender tights — to set the scene. I've dyed my hair many colours over the years, but I think, going really dark was a bad, bad idea. I also remember very vividly, when I was in school, going to a McFly concert with my friend, like in year eight. It was the first time I'd gone out to do something with a friend without parents. We were doing our makeup on the train and I had never used liquid eyeliner before and I put it under my eye. I remember the girl being like ‘You are so weird. You're doing it wrong.’ And I remember being so embarrassed. I put it under my eye because I didn't know about that product. I’ve been scarred from that moment on and that might be why I don't use eyeliner that often.” 

I feel most glamorous when I first step foot at a party…

“I feel the most glamorous when I'm entering a party because that's when your makeup is the freshest, you are the freshest, it's exciting. You can do a little strut in and work the room a little but then it probably just deteriorates from then…”

Being generous with moisturiser is my secret for donut-skin…

“Honestly, Olay is my glazed donut-skin secret, I've been using it for a while now, every single day in my routine, it's just so easy to fit in. I love the smell of it, it’s like a citrusy apricot scent. So I spray my face with rose water, put the Vitamin C + AHA24 serum on, and then hydrate my skin with the hydrating cream before I put on an SPF, then I throw in a lightweight foundation as soon as I put the cream on. But be generous when you moisturise, because the worst thing ever is putting product on skin, which is dry. It’s my super affordable, four-step skincare routine.”

I value the time I do spend doing my skincare, it’s so relaxing…

“I am quite relaxed with my beauty routine, but do what works for you and do what doesn't take too much time. I'm not someone that likes to spend hours and hours doing their makeup or skincare, but at the same time, I value the time I do spend doing my skincare, it’s so relaxing. It’s that one time in the day when you're not with your phone and it helps you create a routine. It's that time with yourself, to give yourself some tender, loving care.”

The best beauty secret I've learned from my mum is…

“The one beauty thing my mum taught me was to take off my makeup before I go to bed. She doesn't really wear much makeup at all and I never grew up in a house where I would steal my mum's makeup because she just didn't have much, but she's got really good skin. I do that without fail. Even if I'm really drunk coming home from a night out, my makeup will be off. My sister is the opposite, she'll wake up in the morning with panda eyes and I'll be like you should listen to mum.”

If my beauty cabinet was on fire I’d save…

“My lip balm because I always wear lip balm all the time. I don't like having dry lips. I don't think anyone does, and probably a tinted one, because it's like a two in one. Then the Olay Vitamin C+ Day Gel Cream, because you can't really live without having a good moisturiser. Thirdly I’d say a mini hairbrush with a compact mirror attached. You can get them in Boots.”

Oh sweet, sweet Amelia Dimoldenberg, you have stolen all our hearts. Chicken shop date soon?

For more from Glamour UK Beauty & Entertainment Assistant Shei Mamona, follow her on Instagram @sheimamona

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