By Siaka MOMOH
Art Hotel in VI Lagos, was electrified Friday afternoon September 9, as Queen of Afrobeat Tiwa Savage, stormed the place to unveil her signature lippy to an excited audience of professional makeup artists, beauty bloggers, content creators and a robust list of top print and electronic media news handlers.
Electrifying atmosphere
It was an afternoon filled with pure vibrations at The Art Hotel Lagos as the self-acclaimed “MAC Gyal” Tiwa Savage spent the afternoon speaking about the process of formulating her new signature lipstick.
The MAC Maker and African music star announced earlier in the week that she has been working on this for about two years and is excited to share her latest venture with her fans. She then put a call out on her page to the aforementioned who came out enmass to show her love.
Engaging right audience
Hosted by Kaylah Oniwo who kept the crowd engaged and entertained, the afternoon kicked off with a quick introduction of The MAC Sub Saharan team headed by Lebo Mulumba- Brand Lead Sub Saharan Africa who was delighted to be part of such a unique gathering that understood makeup innately.
Why Tiwa?
Lebo explained to the audience that Tiwa was chosen because aside from being a global icon, she has always had a relationship with MAC and is passionate about supporting local talent which is why Tiwa insists on a Nigerian makeup artist no matter where she is in the world.
Hear Lebo: “Tiwa was not just selected because she is amazing, a legend, doing great things, she was selected because she has been from the beginning of time. M.A.C. is eight years in Nigeria. Tiwa started buying from the time M.A.C was in Ikeja up to the time it moved to its present place.”
Lebo added: “She came buying herself. This is a person who has a personal relationship with this brand”.
She thanked Tiwa for this collaboration, rising up as an African Queen, representing the brand powerfully, choosing a colour that represents all men and women, and giving her all to put Africa on the map.
For Tiwa (who told the audience when asked to speak that what she does best is singing and not talking), regaled in her traditional sensual garb, the event “is a special moment for us”. “Africans consume so much in makeup but are not recognized. So this collaboration is long overdue”. She added: “I chose this shade because I wanted something that is strong, bold, and beautiful and represents women of my complexion because it’s difficult for ladies of my complexion to find a suitable red. You can gloss it up when you want to feel like a “MAC gyal” but even though it’s matte, it’s not your typical dry matte.”
Reveling in her newly-earned status, vivacious Tiwa, the M.A.C. Lipstick Owner, proceeded to unveil the lipstick to an animated audience who cheered her on.
Kaylah ensued to ask the audience “who knows Tiwa best?” This was fun and interacting as the audience reeled out answers and won gifts.
Following the games, Tiwa led everyone into the “Tiwa Lounge” where she entertained questions from the press, posed for pictures with fans and even bust a few moves with her lipstick in hand.
M·A· C Maker
M·A· C Maker is a collection of lipsticks not only inspired by talent but intrinsically made by talent. Created by eight global beauty icons, each Maker selectively specifies the formulation of an exact shade in the texture and finish that best represents their style, working closely with M·A· C Artists and Product Development team to perfect an eponymous Lipstick that uniquely reflects their personality – inspiring you along with it. Each limited-edition shade is encapsulated in packaging that’s specially designed and signed by the M·A· C Maker who created it.
The lipstick is named after Tiwa Savage and retails for NGN 16,000.
Tiwa, a renowned star
Tiwa is not new to scoring high. 2018 was the most successful and strongest year for African star Tiwa Savage to date. The singer, songwriter, philanthropist and fashion icon, was crowned Best African Act by the MTV European Music Awards and made history as the first female to win the accolade.
In the same year also, she became the first African female to sell out London’s IndigO2 and she was handpicked by Coldplay’s lead singer Chris Martin to perform alongside Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Jay Z live at the Global Citizen Festival in Johannesburg to a 70,000 strong audience and millions across the globe. She released a string of mega hits such as ‘Mr Lova Lova’ ft Duncan Mighty, ‘Diet’ and ‘Tiwa’s Vibe’ all hitting the No. 1 spot across charts all over Africa and securing her position as one of Afrobeats leading artists.
Resilient force
Tiwa Savage is a resilient force within Africa’s ever-growing entertainment industry. While conquering the charts in her home countries and becoming one of the most recognizable faces in the popular Afrobeats scene, she has also managed to carve a career as a reputable songwriter for some of today’s biggest and most successful musicians; all while balancing new roles as a wife and mother.
Named one of the world’s top 100 inspirational women in fashion for US style bible Vogue magazine, Tiwa was born in Lagos, Nigeria where she lived until the age of 11 when her parents decided to move to London. In her early days, like most families, she would attend church with her parents and soon developed a love for performing.
Tiwa Savage, is easily one of Nigeria’s wealthiest and most influential artists, with a net worth of $10 million as at July 2022.
