Woman Behind Beauty Solutions For Africa

Suzie Wokabi of Kenya featured on Passion magazine. She promotes the beauty of the African woman., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.

Meet The Woman Behind Beauty Solutions For Africa's Biggest Shows, Including Face Of Nairobi

Friday, 29 November 2013 19:2
by Adam Wagwau

Put a dark-skinned woman and the African sun together, throw in some grossly overpriced, often counterfeit make-up brands into the equation and what do you get? A recipe for disaster. Multiply that and you have a population of fashion police’s most wanted, not to mention a host of unsightly skin reactions.

This was the inspiration that led Suzie Wokabi, International Relations degree holder, to pursue her passion and create her authentic, affordable, high quality African make-up brand.

And it makes sense that SuzieBeauty would be the official make-up guys when Nairobi crowns its hottest beauty. They are one of the sponsors of the Face of Nairobi pageant going down tomorrow at the Pride Inn Hotel on November 30th between 7.00 p.m. and 11.00 p.m. Ordinary tickets to The Face Of Nairobi show will go for Kshs. 1,500 while VIP tickets are going for Kshs. 2,500. Get advance tickets at missnairobi.com. Pride Inn Hotel is located on Westlands Road, next to Graffins College.

This revolutionary line is Kenya’s first make-up/beauty brand and a global trailblazer in creating a bespoke product for the African woman, by an African woman.

Soon after graduating from University in the U.S, Suzie dove right into the fashion industry. She was trained by MAC Cosmetics and completed an intensive Media Make-up certificate course at the Award Studio Make-up School in Los Angeles.

She worked in New York within the fashion and beauty industries from 2001 until 2007, when she returned to her hometown of Nairobi, Kenya.

Suzie is now an accomplished make-up artist whose extensive industry experience runs the full gamut from Print Media to Television, Film, Video, Commercials, Runway, and Bridal.

She began creating her make-up/beauty brand in early 2009 and officially launched it in December, 2011. The hallmark of Suzie Beauty products is affordable, great quality, tailor-made for the unique needs of women living in the African climate.

To date, Suzie’s work has been featured in the Italian Vogue L’Uomo magazine, as well as countless local glossy magazines. She has graced the covers of Passion for Life, Prestige Magazine and True Love Magazines.

Since 2008 she has worked with Kenyan fashion veterans such as Ann McCreath of Kiko Romeo and the illustrious annual FAFA show (Festival of African Fashion and Arts), which draws several international heavyweights in support of its noble cause.

One of her major clients throughout her artistry career has been MNet, through which SuzieBeauty’s work has been seen on various TV Shows like IDOLS, The Patricia Show, Catwalk Africa, Face of Africa and Coke Studio. She has led SuzieBeauty backstage through three seasons of the biggest regional TV Show, Tusker Project Fame which is now in its 6th season.

SuzieBeauty sponsors most major fashion events including Fashion & Beauty Expo (FAB), Nairobi Fashion Market, Samantha Bridal Expo, Miss World Kenya and Kenya Fashion Week.

Suzie has been featured in vibrant design and lifestyle hubs including the blogs FashionNotebook, FashionForensic, DressupNation, and Kenyanstylista. Interviewed by world-renowned journalists like Jeff Koinange and featured in the New York Times, Suzie was named one of the Five Fashion icons of 2012 by Nairobi’s Capital FM radio station.

SuzieBeauty products are readily accessible online and in retail outlets in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and even in Kampala, Uganda, as well as in Australia. Additionally, the company plays a key role in the fashion, beauty, media and bridal industries and has established a seasonal school where aspiring local make-up artists can learn this valuable skill.

Ordinary tickets to The Face Of Nairobi show will go for Kshs. 1,500 while VIP tickets are going for Kshs. 2,500. Get advance tickets at missnairobi.com. Pride Inn Hotel is located on Westlands Road, next to Graffins College.