African Beauty

“So tell me what does this mean to you? How does it make you feel? Which feelings does it invigorate inside of you…”

Poem by Caroline Mogopedi

The black African woman, thick and creamy like Nescafé.

Bold and creamy and strong

something I would not apologise for.

No makeup can renew the beauty of the African soil

but eish I am still crying for those

who never found themselves

I am crying for those who

never knew who they really are

But dear African woman

they say pretty hurts but if pretty hurts how can I renew my golden African words

Perhaps chocolate skin with teeth shines brighter than my daily pills

Thick and spongy hair all natural for the golden African woman

They say untie yourself from the word of mouth

and never feel sorry for what you have

and for what you can achieve.

Look around explore but

Never ignore the beauty of your country

Africa

Oh yes

Africa

Millions have fought and died all because of the colour of their skin

And if you dig a little bit

Deeper

Into the situation that was formed out of our generation

Many go for implants, surgery and

You name it

Makeup is their new fashion

Many want to be sexy, curvy like Kim Kardashian

But dear African woman

Beauty is not but skin deep

Why not love yourself?

BE YOURSELF

Because the beauty of the African woman will always be carried in the heart and the soul of the nature…

African beauty: the black African woman

So tell me what does this poem mean to you? How does it make you feel? Are there any feelings that are being invigorated inside of you when you read through it? The first time I heard this poem was via WhatsApp Messenger during early first year of my tertiary education. Caroline had written it for me to give her a review of what I think of the poem. I, of course thought it was terrific and it really reminded me of my superpower which is being a woman. But not just any kind of woman, but an African woman. It reminded me that I have the strength of ten thousand moons and that I should continuously embrace being me. Choosing to become the utmost better version of myself is one of the best decisions I have ever taken. Putting my best foot forward in everything that I do. I am bold, strong being an understatement I would say I am a warrior and above all a lotus flower bomb. I carry myself with so much grace and I believe each woman should carry themselves that manner. All women are and they can be beautiful. This poem is somewhat liberating too because it looks at the struggles that women of all walks of life have to go through in terms cosmetic surgery and having to live up to what society describes as “what it means to be beautiful.” Many a times women lose their identity and forget to stay true to who they are because of this. It is saddening and somewhat dehumanizing. We urge that women cancel all these voices that go against their moral values and ethics and just embrace their true self. It also paints a different picture on the beauty of your beloved country. Where are you going? Where are you coming from? Indeed everywhere you go all you see is beejootiful (beautiful) people. Moreover, with regards to makeup the poem is not saying that women should not apply it however, they should learn to be comfortable in their own skin first. People love following trends and the beauty industry is certainly a fast growing one. No wonder makeup is the new fashion and tell you what? It certainly will not run out of style because it is here to stay and we are totally here for this.

MAKEUP TUTORIALS

Furthermore, I will harness the African women and help them hone their makeup skills on this platform. I am no certified makeup artist, however I look forward to helping each and every one of you in honing your facebeat skills. I will be posting videos and images which will portray how I do my facebeats and how to pull-off the different looks as well. I will make sure it is accessible on my different social media accounts namely Facebook, Instagram as well as on my WhatsApp statuses, Instagram and Facebook story/highlights to enable more reach and exposure. I am also open to receiving criticism and suggestions that you may have so that I can go back to the drawing board and perfect my skills –there is always room for improvement after all! We will commence with the simplest form of beauty hacks such as “How to do my eyebrows on fleek” and then move on to do fun, dramatic and fantabulous looks that you will surely love! I want you to be patient with me as I am with you. I did not learn to do makeup overnight. I, too, had to participate in watching YouTube videos and yearn from girlfriends until I finally got the hang of things. It has been a little over two years now that I have been dolling myself up and each time I do it, it feels like I am given a clear canvas and I need to paint a perfect picture clear. I have such incredible fun doing so too. I assure you this is certainly going to be an incredible journey and I cannot wait until my first video/images are up so that we can interact and hear the different perceptions you all will have regarding the looks. The good, the bad –all the tea honey! Furthermore, I also look forward to hear from you by also showing me your results. Isn’t this what you came for? This will be our cocoon where we will not only be Yearning with Yeye (Learning with Lelo) but we will also uplift one another by projecting constructive criticism, love and respect to one another.

Remember that makeup should not create beauty, it only enhances it.

Thank you for reading. Do not forget to follow my blog and not your dreams.

Sincerely Panduleni