In About Face, xoNecole gets the 411 on IGers who give us #skincaregoals on a daily. Here they break down their beauty routines on the inside and out, as well as the highly coveted products that grace their shelves and their skin.
Achieng Agutu has made a name for herself as a "Certified Confidence Queen," and when you look at the material, there's no wonder why. Through her encouraging words, energy, and bad bish mantras shared on social media underneath the name @noordinarynoire, Achieng has amassed a following of over 450K followers who gravitate toward the content creator for keys to the confidence kingdom. The 25-year-old revealed to xoNecole that the true key to confidence lies in authenticity. "Be yourself, live your life for you and no one else," she says. "It is important to accept yourself for your unique qualities and find the power in it."
Without a doubt, Achieng has tapped into the fullness of that power as unapologetic self-love and confidence radiate from her entire being. She is confident in the skin she is in and has defined beauty for herself. She remembers finding beauty in things rather than people and that perspective lent itself to her most significant beauty lesson which is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. "What's beautiful to you might not be beautiful to me or my standards of beauty may not match yours," she explains. "Beauty is subjective."
Photo Credit: Braylen Dion
Growing up in Kenya is something else that impacted the way Achieng saw beauty, especially in how she approached her skincare. Whereas she noted skincare routines in the United States seemed to revolve around products, her upbringing in Kenya taught her that skincare and beauty were just as much internal as it is external. "To me, taking care of your health is also taking care of your skin. This is still how I view skincare," she shares. "In a similar way, this also reflects my view of beauty. Western media sold us the idea that external factors – white, skinny, tall, and blonde – were the standard of beauty. I have since learned that beauty is internal. The way a person carries themselves with confidence and kindness is what makes them beautiful."
To take care of herself internally, Achieng actively journals and enjoys drinking water as means of self-care and self-pleasure. The latter of which she also likes to maximize the benefits of through water affirmations. "It’s such a powerful thing for me. Something I like to do when I drink any liquid, but mainly water, is speak manifestations and desires into it. Speak into it who you are or who you want to be, drink it with zeal, and watch everything come to fruition. I call it 'water affirmations' and they work for me."
Keep scrolling for more insight into Achieng Agutu’s morning and night skincare routines.
Achieng Agutu's Morning Skincare Routine
Step One: Cleanse
La Mer Cleansing Foam
La Mer
"I cleanse my face using the La Mer Cleansing Foam. I love this cleanser because it is effective, yet gentle for my sensitive skin. This one, in particular, is also fragrance-free."
Step Two: Mask
Dr. Dennis Gross DRx SpectraLite™ FaceWare Pro
Dr. Dennis Gross
"I use the Dr. Dennis Gross LED mask. It is an anti-acne, anti-aging treatment I use every other day."
Step Three: Face Toning
Face Gym Pure Lift Face
Face Gym
"I use the Face Gym Pure Lift Face [tool] to depuff and contour my face! It's like Gua Sha 2.0!"
Step Four: Exfoliate
Paula's Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant
Paula's Choice
"I exfoliate Paula’s Choice 2% BHA Liquid Exfoliant. It is gentle enough to use every day."
Step Five: Eye Cream
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream
Ole Henriksen
"I take time to put on my eye treatment: Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream. It smells so good and it gives me instant brightness under the eye."
Step Seven: Serum
Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum
Biossance
"Depending on my skin needs, I will use the Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Serum for its super-moisturizing qualities. It makes the skin look nice and bouncy. Or I'll go in with a Vitamin C Serum from Ole Henriksen for more brightness. I usually alternate between these two serums."
Step Eight: Moisturize
Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen
Fenty Skin
"I finish up my routine with my favorite moisturizer from Fenty Skin, the Hydra Vizor which already has SPF in it! I love it because it smells good, Rihanna made it, and the Kalahari melon helps with keeping my skin moisturized."
"At the very end, I take a step back to admire the glow in the skin and the depuffed face ready for the day. Honestly, this is my favorite part of my routine!"
Achieng Agutu's Evening Skincare Routine
Step One: Cleanse
La Mer Cleansing Foam
La Mer
"Before I start my nightly skincare routine, I pick out my music to set the vibes. I cleanse the day away using the cleansing foam by La Mer again."
Step Two: Eye Cream
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream
Ole Henriksen
"I go in again with my Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream."
Step Three: Facial Oil
Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil
Sunday Riley
"For the evening time, I apply the Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Night Oil."
Step Four: Moisturize
Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen
Fenty Skin
"Once again, I finish up my routine with my Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor moisturizer."
For more of Achieng, follow her on Instagram @noordinarynoire.
Featured image by Braylen Dion
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
Feature image courtesy
The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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