Welcome to Take the Edge Off, a series that breaks down the beauty and self-care routines of influencers, CEOs, experts, and celebrities. Find out how they unwind and decompress, while taking a closer look at the holy-grail essentials they’re currently raving about.
Even if the name McBride Sisters Wine Company doesn’t immediately sound familiar to you, one stroll down just about any wine aisle in the country will reveal at least one iteration of their signature Black Girl Magic bottles.
The McBride sisters are a juggernaut force in the food and beverage industry, serving as the founders and owners of their eponymous company for over 17 years. The brand was born just a few years after Robin and Andréa—who previously lived in Monterey, California, and New Zealand, respectively—discovered each other's existence, and that they share the same father.
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“We started working in wine a few years after we found out about each other and met. We were united for the first time in 1999, and Andréa had been growing up from the age of five or six in New Zealand, and I had been growing up in Monterey, California,” Robin tells Bazaar.com. “Neither of us grew up with our father, so we didn’t have a relationship with him, and didn’t know that we had a sister out in the world.”
The sisters were eventually connected through extended family, as Robin and Andréa’s father expressed a final wish to help his daughters meet for the first time. The meeting was conveniently timed to a weeklong visit Andréa took to the States; the pair spent part of her trip getting to know each other and learning more about each other’s lives. Just a high schooler at the time, Andréa eventually decided to attend college in the United States at the University of Southern California, bringing the sisters physically and emotionally closer than ever before.
“We bonded over lots of similarities that we had, that included growing up in these really beautiful places that were big agricultural regions with strong wine industries. Her uncle was a wine-grape grower in New Zealand, so she kind of grew up in the vineyards, but didn’t like it very much because they made her work,” Robin notes. “But I also grew up with winemaking families around me, and in wine country. It didn’t take us long to say, ‘What are the chances that—even though it was worlds apart—we grew up in these really similar places with similar backgrounds around agriculture and wine grape growing?’ And it started to occur to us that maybe there’s something here, maybe this is our calling to do something together in wine.”
That something ultimately became McBride Sisters Wine Company, which includes a robust range of whites, reds, rosés, and more, made in both California and New Zealand. “As young women, we were learning more about wine as a beverage as consumers in tasting rooms, but we didn’t love the experience,” Robin says. “So, we sort of took it from there and said, ‘Well, if we had a wine company, we’d do things like this’—just being creative around the idea.” After officially launching the business in 2005, the sisters met with New Zealand–based winemakers and developed a model for import and direct distribution across California.
While the pair found much success distributing outsourced wines, they ultimately made the choice to create their own bottles from the ground up in New Zealand. The company eventually expanded to also include options created directly in the central coast country of California, starting with the McBride Sisters Collection and later adding Black Girl Magic selections and She Can wines, blends that are still exclusively produced in their hometowns.
For more insight into how the lifestyle entrepreneurs wind down after a string of stressful days—in addition to sipping a few glasses of their locally sourced wine—we caught up with the McBride sisters for a short list of their current beauty and wellness favorites.
What are you reading these days?
Andréa McBride: Right now I’m reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid.
Robin McBride: I’m not really an avid reader, so I’m usually years behind when I do open a book, but just cracked open Elaine Welteroth’s book, More Than Enough. I’m just at the start of it, but I’ve always loved her—that’s what I have on my bedside table.
Taylor Jenkins Reid The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo: A Novel
Elaine Welteroth More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say)
What are some of your go-to bath and/or shower products?
AM: I always use Epi.logic’s Clean Reveal Brightening Glycolic + PHA Gel and Even Balance CoQ10 Facial Toning Formula. And for bathing, I enjoy using bath bombs from Buena Botanicals.
RM: I do have some favorites. My best friend since I was a kid is obsessed with beauty, and she probably spends her entire paycheck on products, so I get some as well, as she never uses everything she purchases—I get to try lots of new things. One is Iyoba Sugar Body Scrub—I’m completely addicted. There’s a lavender and vanilla version, and it’s magnificent. And the others are Nécessaire’s whole line of body care products, from their body detox bar to the body lotion. The body lotion and body oil combo is everything.
What beauty or self-care products do you use on a regular basis to help combat Zoom fatigue?
AM: I try to take my Zoom calls in the sun, whenever possible and with sunscreen on, of course, as a way to maximize time I might be using to relax and reset.
RM: My genetics say that I’m going to be getting dark circles under my eyes, and I feel like Zoom exacerbates that problem. Resurfix makes this Advanced Restore Retinol Eye Treatment that is dope—it’s really necessary for me because I’d look crazy if I don’t do something about what’s going on under my eyes.
Do you have a favorite hand sanitizer, soap, and/or cream right now?
AM: My favorite hand cream at the moment is by Best Life Organics and actually for the entire body. I always reach for their hydrating Peach + Ginger Body Butter.
RM: Napa Soap Company makes a body butter that I love—Tuscan Citrus Zest—it is delish.
Napa Soap Company Tuscan + Citrus Grapeseed Oil Body Butter
Do you ever light a candle or stick of incense to decompress? If so, what are some of your favorites?
AM: I have two go-to candles right now: Forvr Mood’s Not Down to Earth and the Black-Owned Everything candle.
RM: I have a whole cabinet full of candles depending on my mood. The Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 scented candle is super yummy, and another favorite is Forvr Mood’s Chasing Waterfalls.
Black Owned Everything The Black Owned Everything Candle
What was the last beauty product you put on today?
AM: Sunscreen, of course! I love using Black Girl Sunscreen.
RM: I sprayed on the La Roche-Posay Toleriane Ultra 8 Soothing Spray—also delish.
Black Girl Sunscreen Moisturizing Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30
Are you into bold makeup, no makeup, or no-makeup makeup right now, and why?
AM: I typically prefer wearing no-makeup makeup on most days.
RM: I’m into no makeup always: I feel like I’m often required to put stuff on my face, but I’m not naturally a makeup girl at all. I do it because I have to sometimes, but I prefer no makeup. If I feel like I need to have something on, it’s like mascara, lip gloss, and a little blush or something—that’s as far as I can go on my own.
What’s the last fitness class you streamed or attended in person?
AM: I’m a dedicated Core Power Yoga fan.
RM: Nothing? I've tried to do fitness classes, but they’re just not for me, but actually I need to work out more. What I do for my own little fitness routine, if you can call it that—which isn’t much—is stretch. I’m an avid stretcher; I have my own stretching routine. I think it’s because I was a child ballerina, so I’ve always seen the value in having stretched-out limbs and body, and to some degree it helps with strength. I also walk a lot.
What’s one piece of self-care advice you’d recommend to our readers?
RM: Take a nap. I’ve never been a big nap person, but when I do take one, it’s game-changing. It feels better than a full night’s sleep sometimes—like a beautiful refresh. It’s hard for me to do, but I’ll squeeze in a nap here and there.
Tiffany Dodson is currently the associate beauty commerce editor at Harper’s Bazaar, where she specializes in trend forecasting, building relationships with major and emerging brands, and crafting shopping stories—from holiday gift guides to product road tests. Tiffany's work has previously been featured in outlets like SELF, Bustle, and Teen Vogue, and she's been quoted as a commerce and beauty expert in publications and platforms like The Business of Fashion and NPR’s Life Kit podcast.
