According to The Nation, Nigerian-based consultancy firm, Compass Global Services CEO Tokunbo Chiedu said Nigeria is sub-Saharan Africa’s hub for beauty products, with market value estimated at N500 billion annually.
Rihanna launched Fenty Beauty in late 2017 and since then, the company has been valued at 500 million euros. Since diversifying into the beauty sector, Rihanna has had unrivaled success and grown her brand to one of the biggest in the year in under two years. Celebrity endorsed brands succeed based off of the popularity of that particular celebrity and we shed light on the Nigerian celebrities that are using their platform to build their business.
From liquid lipsticks to lashes, here are the 5 women that are walking in Fenty’s footsteps.
1. Nina Chinonso Onyenobi- Nina Empire Cosmetics
Nina Chinonso Onyenobi, popularly known as Nina Ivy was one of the finalists of reality TV show Big Brother Naija and was best known for her on/off again romance with winner, Miracle.
Since leaving the house, Nina has established herself as a fashion and beauty entrepreneur with her brand Nina Empire which has now expanded to include a cosmetics line, Nina Cosmetics. Nina Cosmetics focuses on a range of specially formulated liquid lipsticks in a wide variety of colours and mink lashes too.
Nina shared the news with her fans on Instagram, posting a picture of her modelling for her brand. Describing one of the lipstick shades which she named “Oge” in one of her posts, she wrote:
Oge is the perfect shade for every occasion. Not as showy as a bold red or as difficult to wear as a true nude, there is something about a good pink lipstick that works for every occasion, day or night,brightening every skin tone
2. Michelle Gentry- Michelle Beauty
Mercy Aigbe, Nollywood royalty’s daughter, Michelle, is quite the teenpreneur. The youngster appears to have inherited her Mother’s nose for business and at her tender age, already has a clothing and a makeup line.
Taking a leaf out of Kylie Jenner’s book, Michelle started with a line of sumptuous liquid lipsticks to suit a range of skin colours.
She recently expanded her line to include a range of glow oils and promises much more to come.
3. Oby Iyamah Osifo – Switch Cosmetics
There must be something in the Iyamah blood with all three sisters excelling in their chosen fields. Oby is the sister of ‘The Wedding Party’ actress Somkhele Iyamah and Andrea Iyamah, swimwear, RTW and bridal designers. The Iyamahs definitely stay on top of their game.
Switch Cosmetics aim to provide quality products and training to beauty professionals so they can offer their clients top notch service.
Creative Director, Oby Iyamah Osifo, founded Switch Cosmetics Ltd in 2013. She begun by selling through her e-commerce platforms for customers and offering wholesale products to beauty professionals and retailers. Switch Cosmetics then launched their first flagship store in 2016, selling a wide range of makeup, skincare and hair products.
Switch is dedicated to empowering beauty professionals by offering comprehensive training at their makeup Academy to teach the latest techniques.
Counting the Iyamah sisters among their fans, Switch Cosmetics is already a celeb favourite.
4. Jane Ogu- Nuban Beauty
Popularly know as FlawlessFacebyJane, Jane Ogu is arguably one of the most popular makeup-artsist in Nigeria. With her refreshing approach to beauty and talented skin work, Jane has set herself aside from the crowd of MUA’s and has succeeded in carving out a reputation for herself.
As Jane herself becomes a key figure in Nigeria’s rapidly expanding beauty industry. Her line, Nuban Beauty, has made quite the impact on beauty lovers and influencers
Created by Jane and Stella Ndekile, a Lagos based Medical Laboratory Scientist and part-time makeup artist, Nuban Beauty dedicated to giving you the very best of makeup and beauty with major focus on providing quality and affordable makeup products designed specially for the African woman. According to the duo Nuban Beauty was born from a ‘great passion for makeup & beauty and the need to provide high quality makeup products with international standard for the African makeup lovers.’
Nuban are best known for their sumptuous eye-shadow palettes which are Jane’s secret to creating dazzling eye looks.
5. Juliet Ibrahim- Shades by Juliet Ibrahim
Following in the footsteps of ‘Shahs of Sunset’ star Lilly Ghalici and her wildly successful line of false lashes, Lilly’s Lashes, Juliet Ibrahim has her own luxury lash line, Shades by Juliet Ibrahim.
These high end lashes seamlessly blend with your natural lashes, adding just the right amount of length and fullness to create a subtle, glamorous look.
Shades by Juliet goes a step further, offering to customise your lashes to fit your eye shape and achieve more precision to help you achieve the best possible fit for your lashes.
100% handmade, these false lashes are vegan and cruelty free meaning you can look good without the guilt. Go Juliet!
