Written by: Shukra Abayomi | Image by: @beautysecretsofapril
Since 2019, when I started using “properly formulated/safe skincare” I’ve tried dozens of products and lost a small fortune. I enjoy a good trip to the skincare aisles, discovering what is often overlooked in this age of skinfluencing and scoring a great bargain without compromising the health of my skin.
Celebrity skincare brands are usually shunned in the skincare community. Largely perceived as expensive bottles with no distinct ingredient or effectiveness—one step removed from the potent steroids sold as ‘organic creams’; which is why I’d never gotten tempte. Well, not until my search for a new clay mask led me to stumble upon Beauty Secrets of April.
Beauty Secrets of April is a skincare brand owned by renowned Nigerian actress, Ini Edo. Launched in February 2021, the brand boasts over 18 products in their range.
Beautifully packaged in a 250-ml black tub is their natural Dead Sea mud mask. It checked everything on my list: Affordable, Large Volume & Slick Packaging (although including a spatula wouldn’t have been a bad idea). The ingredients are boldly displayed, along with the shelf life and the fact that it’s cruelty-free. In terms of the actual product, its colour is similar to the sort of clay we played with as kids in fine arts class, which made it even more fun for me. The mask applied smoothly, was cooling with a bearable tingle due to peppermint oil being an ingredient. I knew it was time to rinse off when the colour changed to a lighter hue, as clay does right before it gets hard and dry. It also contains hydrating ingredients like glycerin and aloe vera, which are necessary as clay is quite drying. The titular dead sea mud is both hydrating and purgatory.
I was impressed enough to consider trying out other products from this brand; got my eye on their retinol cream. I’m also super excited to discover more Nigerian brands—celebrity or not—with great products and process, especially as inflation is making it a little difficult to keep investing in international brands. For now, I’ll keep roaming the shelves for my next great find.
