DaDiva Feature: Ginika Eva-Offiah

Perhaps the most amazing thing about having a conversation with Kaka Offiah of Evana Makeovers, is the evident clarity of purpose she exudes. No grey areas; with her, black is black and white is white. In my experience, it’s been mostly white.

I remember meeting her for the 1st time back in 2013. She was the first make up artist to touch my face in Enugu and in my head, I just knew Kaka would have to be the one to hook me up on the special days in my life (Dear future husband, I have already booked the make-up artist). She has gone on to beat my face and the faces of several other people I know and each time she gets done, the feeling is to impulsively break into the Halleluyah Chorus…she beats the hell out of every face and makes you see perfect definition in places you didn’t even know you had.

Ginika Eva-Offiah can best be described as a detail oriented creative mind with deft fingers and thirst for growth and excellence. She describes herself as blessed with talent and a creative mind.

She’s always had a lot of love for makeup and art…her mum and sisters would probably have lots of tales of coming back home to find their lipsticks all over her face. At 16 though, her elder sister became some sort of muse for her. Kaka got her first job to make her sister up every morning before work (at this point, I am just imagining how heavy my ‘fleekitude’ would be if Kaka made me up everyday). Even though her payment was in the currency of love, Kaka’s time being her sister’s make up artist is credited as the foundation for her work and growth in the make up industry.

Being a lover of art and makeup didn’t mean studying artistry. For her, it meant stumbling through schedules, making sacrifices and constantly trying to figure what to put at the top of her priority list…courses in Law or practice and service in Make Up. Yup…Kaka bagged a degree in Law from the University of Nigeria while being a professional make up artist. When I asked her about her balancing system, she said 

“I found a working system. Till date, I cannot categorically explain that system to you!”

Having being born, raised and schooled in Enugu, being a Nigerian female, 5th of 6 children who are mostly in professional fields and a child to parents who are not only professionally successful but are known in upper middle class circles in Enugu, juggling a degree in Law and paying attention to a creative hobby, one would expect that her parents would have been disapproving of her work. But here, Kaka’s story is not one of the statics. 

This self acclaimed Enugu Kid (who is also a grown ass woman, like she rightly pointed out), had and still has unconditional and unwavering support from her parents, siblings and even extended family. Her first make up box and trolly were given to her by her mother, whom she fondly calls “Mommybear” and her second makeup box was from her sister. She still gets make up products from them as well. Her dad, who, in her words, barely knows anything about make up, has kept her grounded and helped her through the financial lows that come with starting a business. She described her family support system so passionately that I’m just going to quote a part of her answers like she put them

“My siblings have been my backbone right from day one. They spoil me with so much love and cheer me through all my projects. They're there to always listen, give the greatest advice, pray with and for me, and assist me in anyway they possibly can. They teach me a lot, from how to run my business successfully to how to manage my profits. They give me constructive criticisms and fraternal corrections‎ in the most loving way. I can't stop gushing about them. I'm nothing short of BLESSED to have them and their support!

They're my number one marketers and number one clients, especially my darling Mommybear! Their support is unconditional.

Asides my nuclear family, I've also had support from other people who are family! My favorite Uncle, Uncle Mike has been a pillar of support and encouragement! So have many other relatives. Sometimes, I think the Bae and the bestfriends should be tired of hearing about work or contributing their opinions every now and again. But they are just as ceaseless in their support as my family has”

So did you notice the last part about “The Bae”? If you were wondering if her heart is taken, well, you have your answer right there. One thing I know for sure however is that before ‘the bae’, Kaka’s heart was already completely taken by God. She is one of the young people I know who genuinely, unashamedly and consistently show love, gratitude and respect for God. She is catholic and is quick to state it. I recall a time I was going through some things and having bad dreams…she was the one I called to pray with me and she gave me a book that opened my eyes to faith in God.

She once told me how she ‘talked’ to God about the most ridiculous things like “tell me where I kept my brush” or “Is this dress good enough for this meeting?“ When I asked her about her Inspiration for work, she said that she usually has no idea until the job was done. Then she added something that made me smile.

“I'd tell you this though. I'm mostly silent each time I'm working. That's because most of the time I'm talking to God. I'm always like 'Lord why didn't you give this woman brows!?! How I'm I supposed to manufacture natural looking brows and plaster on her face. You gotta come do this Yourself yo!". 

As a client, I have never been disappointed with Kaka’s work on me, neither have I met anyone she worked on who was dissatisfied. Regardless of that though, she still has challenges running her business in Enugu, Nigeria. First of, the orientation and mindset is less open to spending so much on a short-term-satisfaction ‎service. She also has the 'restocking' challenge, as a lot of her preferred products are not the go-to brands available in stores around the city. 

With the challenges in mind, Kaka spoke of the rewards…ease of commuting, easy publicty in a small city and a growing awareness of her catchment cliental due to the global growth in the beauty and fashion industry.

Makeup isn’t all Kaka is about. She loves photography and culinary art. She intends to own a restaurant some day. On her instagram page, it is common to see “food porn” photos as well as “face beat” photos. You also see photos of her and her style which she describes as mostly practical. 

“On a typical day, you'd find me in denim pants and a shirt or blouse and shoes or in a flowing maxi dress. But on other not so typical days, I try to 'bring it' as much as I can! All in all, I keep modesty and decency in mind.

A young woman so poised for success, one would only imagine that she would, in Nigerian terms “blow” and relocate to a bigger city, more suited for her business and drive. But Kaka intends to always retain a business presence in Enugu, regardless of where the winds of growth take her.

Thinking long term, in her words…

“…I plan to further my education as much as I can, grow my business into a renowned beauty empire, marry the man I love, extend my already big family by having my own family and most importantly, do the Will of God for me at all times.”

Check out some of her work and connect with her 

Twitter : @kaka_Speaks
Facebook: Ginika Eva-Offiah
IG: @kakaevaoffiah

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