How important is skin care to you?
It is very important. I read somewhere that the skin is the largest organ of the body, and it is the first thing that people see when they meet you. People may not remember your name but they will remember what happened to your skin. What is your Skin type?
Combination (oily and dry). Do you use SPF in your routine?
I actually don’t and I know I should use SPF. I try to stay out of the sun as much as I can. I used SPF at some point and it was great, then I ran out and couldn’t find it anymore. Then I tried other brands and they made me sweat, and I felt it made my skin look darker than it was so I was discouraged and stopped using SPF.
Take me through your day, your skincare routine in the morning and routine at night
Well I keep it really simple. I take a shower, cleanse my face using black soap and apply my St Ives moisturizer, which I mix with rose water. I don’t know why I do that, but growing up I saw my mum and my grandma mixing rosewater in her moisturizer so I thought it was a cool thing to do (laughs) so I just adopted it. But I am not exactly sure what rosewater does so my thoughts are if it’s not broke don’t fix it (laughs)
I only wear makeup when I absolutely have to. So on the days I wear makeup, when I come back in the PM I wash my face, apply moisturizer and go to bed.
I exfoliate once or twice a week, depending on how active my week was or the condition of my skin. I know that too much exfoliation can be bad for your skin so I try to keep it to a minimum.
As a model, how important is having healthy/flawless skin?
I would say when it comes to modelling your skin needs to be amazing so that they don’t have to do a lot of touch ups or Photoshop. When it comes to acting, it’s not as important. It is great if you have clear skin so you look good on camera, but it also depends on the role you are playing. If you are playing a teenager with lots of acne then great for you, you can get the role (laughs). Plus, there is usually make up that can be used to cover up or add certain blemishes to bring life to the character.
What is the weirdest skincare treatment you have done?
Hmmm, I think the weirdest treatment I have tried would be making my own mask which is not so weird because a lot of people make at-home mask, but this was a unique incident. I remembered I was on location for two days shooting a commercial and I was under the sun all day; I could literally feel my skin burn and my skin started peeling off. I don’t know why I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a mask by myself. So I grounded papaya, added lime, honey and made a mask but nothing happened. It stung quite a bit because of the lime that was in it, and it was really pointless.
Another weird thing I have heard is apply toothpaste to acne, so I tried that a couple times. But I feel your skin heals itself and it returns to normal when it wants to without these treatments.
What is your "can’t live without product"? If you were in a burning building and you had to reach for one, what would that be?
Ha! I probably be burnt because I would have to take my moisturizer, my soap, exfoliating scrub and my exfoliating glove. These days I cannot do without my shea butter for my hair, plus as a lip balm too. My lips get dry easily, so I use it all the time and even before I go to sleep ; so I’ll have to grab all the things from my bathroom shelf. I will just be like “hey! I am about to die here oh because this place is about to burn down” and I will just clear everything (laughs). I have to take everything.
What is your favorite skincare brand?
I like a lot of skincare brands because I have been using them for a long time and it works. I like St Ives, I have been using it for the past two and a half years and it is very good. Clean and Clear morning skin brightening scrub is fantastic and I have been using it for five years. I am very particular about the products I use. I don’t use a lot of them and I am loyal to the brands I use because they work for me.
If you could create a skincare product, what will it be and what benefits would it have?
It would be a moisturizer with exfoliating beads, so you could moisturize your skin and exfoliate at the same time. Hmm, but don’t you have to wash it away? So that might not work (laughs). OK! It would be a lip balm. Lip balm that actually works! Most of them don’t actually moisturize your lips, plus it dries out quick. So lip balm that works.
Beauty is….
It is relative. What is beautiful to you could be just okay to someone else. Beauty has to encompass a lot of things, not just physical beauty but your mind and how you relate. The one person opens the door might be different from the way another opens the door and you could say one person opened it beautifully because of the way they did it.
Whose beauty inspires you?
There are quite a few people. I love Michelle Obama because I think she is so cool. She seems so relatable, they give off a good vibe and the way she relays her agenda (healthy eating, education) is beautiful. They are the leaders of the free world, but are so relatable.
Jola Ayeye (Jollz), I follow her on twitter. She is very thoughtful about things that she tweets and she is witty. When I read her tweets I am happy that I follow her, and she is inspiring.
I love my friends. I don’t have a lot of friends, but the people I call friends are gorgeous and I love the way we relate to each other; like Akah is amazing and Sharon is amazing. We may agree to disagree but we always move on and that’s really cool.
