Ep. 45: Building a beauty brand that blends African roots with a quintessentially British vibe; Abi and Liha of LIHA Beauty

I first met Abi Oyepitan and Liha Okunniwa of LIHA Beauty around three years ago. At that time they’d been building their beauty business for almost three years and since then, I think I’d be correct in saying that their success has been that of a snowball effect. While Liha’s background is  arts and aromatherapy, Abi is a former Olympic athlete, and together they channel their strengths into creating an all natural brand that takes inspiration and ingredients from Nigeria. I sat down with Abi and Liha at their new workshop in Witney, Oxfordshire to talk about their teen inspirations - Lauryn Hill gets mentioned a LOT - as well as the challenges they've faced building a brand from the ground up, with their own savings. Products mentioned Abi Rose Oil: https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/miaroma-rose-blended-essential-oil-60060154 LIHA Beauty Gold Shea Butter: https://lihabeauty.com/collections/product-page/products/copy-of-gold-shea-butter-120ml LIHA Beauty Idan Oil: https://lihabeauty.com/collections/product-page/products/idan-oil-100ml Big Hair Leave-In Conditioner: https://bighair.co.uk/products/milk-leave-in-conditioner Boucleme Curl Conditioner: https://www.boucleme.co.uk/collections/all/products/curl-conditioner Liha LIHA Beauty Idan Oil: https://lihabeauty.com/collections/product-page/products/idan-oil-100ml YouTube Frequencies Jason Citrus Body Wash: https://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/jason-citrus-body-wash-revitalizing-60036978 Dermalogica Charcoal Rescue Masque: https://www.dermalogica.co.uk/charcoal-rescue-masque/223,en_GB,pd.html Heritage Store Rosewater: https://amzn.to/2ZobToY Aloe Vera Gel: https://amzn.to/35uj2YG Weleda Wild Rose Smoothing Day Cream: https://amzn.to/32hQKi0 Avene Hydrance Light Hydrating Emulsion SPF30: https://amzn.to/2FnyBGP Episode artwork: by me I'd love to know what you think of this episode so feel free to say hi over @beautymepodcast! You'll also find full show notes over at charissekenion.co. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beautyme/message

Om Podcasten

U.K.-based beauty writer and photographer Charisse Kenion presents a series of podcasts that are all about beauty - how it's become intertwined with wellness, how we're measured by it, what we choose to spend on it, our first memories of it and more. Most importantly, this is beauty, beyond the BS. Go to @beautymepodcast on Instagram if you want to talk about it and check out my TikTok @charissekenion for video content. Please rate and review the podcast if you enjoy it.