Source: SO Aesthetics / OSEI PR
Sacha Okoh‘s love of makeup started unexpectedly. While preparing for her 21st birthday party, her aunt used a few products on her to help her look as done up as she could for her big day. Though she hadn’t been interested in makeup before, when she saw the finished results courtesy of a little loose face powder, a brow pencil and some rouge lipstick, she was sold.
“I glared in the mirror and couldn’t believe how beautiful I looked!” she told us over e-mail. “My blemishes had disappeared. I looked a bit older, but at 21. Honestly, my makeup experience with my aunt was a game changer. I loved how I looked and felt. I never looked back.”
After cultivating her skills on herself, Okoh officially got into the makeup business 13 years ago to help others feel the way her aunt made her feel on that 21st birthday. She studied at the London School of Beauty and Makeup and became a sought-after makeup artist. She would eventually move to Ghana, where she’s originally from, taking her talents there. Through her return to the West African country, she realized how hard it was for African women to get makeup that worked for their skin tone, and to just obtain it in general.
“My family and friends would ship in bulk most of our beauty supplies, toiletries, etc. from the U.K. to Ghana due to higher markups, lack of varieties of product brands, in addition to the uncertainty of the fake products on the market,” she said. “At that time, to be a makeup artist at an international level was very frustrating for me. I had to ship in all my makeup products from the U.K. This created a direct effect on my rates for makeup services. Consequentially, I was deemed to be expensive in comparison to my peers due to my elevated price points. As the demand for my services and use of quality products grew, I saw an opportunity to start a Ghanaian, African-owned makeup brand.”
And that’s how SO Aesthetics began. Not only did Okoh want there to actually be Ghanaian-owned beauty brands in Ghana and African beauty products available to African women in general, but she also aimed to help mainstream western beauty brands better understand the need for a variety of hues by offering an array for Black women of all shades in her line.
Source: SO Aesthetics / OSEI PR
“SO Aesthetic brand stands out from the many makeup lines because of our story. We have an identity, we are an African female Black-owned business, and one of the first Ghanaian and African-owned makeup brands,” she said.
She says quality is important to her, and believes those who try SO Aesthetics, available on the brand’s website, will attest to that quality. Products range in price from $1-$30, sold in both USD and Ghanaian Cedi.
“SO Aesthetic brand is a makeup brand for mainly women of colour to uplift, encourage, instill confidence, share love, and empower each woman with the use of our products.”
We asked Okoh to share five products from the line that she says are a must-have. Here are the essentials from SO Aesthetics.
Source: SO Aesthetics / OSEI PR
SO Liquid Foundation
The liquid foundations come in not only a variety of vivid shades, but they also come with Ghanaian names (like Ewura and Asantewaa). Okoh says the foundation is a best-seller thanks to its ultra coverage matte finish. It’s easy to apply medium to full coverage, giving you a flawless complexion by helping to cover up pesky pores. The foundation costs ₵160.00, which is $27.20.
