COUTURE Africa - April 2018 - The Beauty Issue

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BEAUTY IS AS BEAUTY DOES
“Makeup is not a mask that covers up your beauty; it's a weapon that helps you express who you are from the inside.” - Michelle Phan
There was a time I didn’t care to be beautiful. Of course I was also waddling and cute by default so that hardly counts. As I grew older I became aware there was a standard of beauty and I did not meet it. She has soft, clear, light skin with thick dark hair with big round eyes. As she grew older she was allowed to darken a smidge provided she had glorious curves to be ogled at in real life and increasingly, on social media. Then my flawless skin broke out at 29. Hormones. Stress. Genetics. Androgens. Environment. Diet. Dermatologists played blind darts. I sunk money into skin care and lifestyle. I got trolled for having acne. Threads confident in my ugly. That was the actual word used. Ugly. Other women were effortlessly beautiful so why was I working so hard to earn mine dammit! It would seem I was destined to be on the wrong side of beautiful my entire life.

Yes, this story has a happy ending where I will gloss over all the hard times and tell you I finally slayed that dragon. Killed it. Dead. The end. Insert smiley face. After years of being told I was too black, that my hair was too something, my arms too toned, my body a little too strong and agile-looking, my muchness simply too much, a switch flipped in my head. I hate this cliche but it is ever so perfect. I found my beauty, as dramatic as it was. I embraced me. I realised I only had two speeds when it comes to lipstick: red and a deep plum. No nude lippie for me. I loved how my wild red hair went every which way. I was bemused by all the attributes directed my way simply because of how
I looked.

Carol Odero.

Beauty Is As Beauty Does

“Makeup is not a mask that covers up your beauty; it's a weapon that helps you express who you are from the inside.” - Michelle Phan

2 mins

Njanja Kimani

Njanja, founder and co-creator of N&K lashes, has proved to be more than a just pretty face in the ever growing beauty industry. She and her husband are the first in Kenya to produce mink lashes. She took time out of managing and delivering her merchandise to sit down with us for a beauty chat.

4 mins

Dela Maranga

Singer and songwriter Dela Maranga, 29, the girl with the blue hair and advocate of #SelfLove

2 mins

What's Your Shade?

I have seen many a red in my time. Some have made me cringe. If it weren’t for the exceptionally high maintenance of red colour, I would run home and shampoo it all off. Some have been stunners, blessedly. You would imagine women with darker complexion would not be able to rick blonde and red shades. Would you be surprised if I told you there is a wide range of colour you can experiment with? 

3 mins

It's In The Details Kapoeta By Ambica

It’s In The Details Kapoeta By Ambica

1 min

David ‘Tosh' Gitonga

David ‘Tosh’ Gitonga

6 mins

Kenya's Hidden Coast: White Cliff Villa

Kenya’s coastline is roughly 483 km stretching from Lamu to Mombasa in the south. Sandy white in some areas, palm-filed in others, filled with sparkling white coral in others. Majority of visitors to Kenya’s beautiful coastal region choose the more popular areas in the North coast over the more secluded South or islands such as Lamu. Most times, we overlook a spectacular treasure in between - Kikambala, Kilifi County.

5 mins

To Douche Or Not To Douche

Do you have a smell or an itch down there? Perhaps you are terrified if you lean in you will find mossy forests, forgotten babies running around in a game of tap and the car you forgot in the parking lot last Tuesday in 2007.

5 mins

Traffic Armour

Living in a city is stressful enough with sky-high rent and slow walkers. When you add never-ending traffic, it is a deadly combo. Driving can ruin your skin in a big way. Between sun exposure and polluted air lies attacked dry rough layers of skin.

3 mins

Neelma Maru

Neelma Maru, 37, is an articulate communicator with a warm aura. Our one on one at the newly opened Mövenpick Hotel & Residences Nairobi, 1st in Kenya and EA, is part of an upscale Swiss group of 85 hotels in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Africa. 

7 mins

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COUTURE Africa Magazine Description:

As East Africa’s Pioneer Fashion Magazine, COUTURE Africa seeks to not only celebrate African Fashion, but bring global fashion and beauty trends into the African market in a relatable and easily translatable way to our readers.

It is because of this that COUTURE Africa has over the years become a voice for the modern woman in Africa. The woman who understands quality, appreciates value and is constantly seeking to look and feel her best on a daily basis.

COUTURE Africa magazine is indeed the go-to read for today’s woman.