Naija Brands Rock: Meet House of Tara (Video & Giveaway)

When you think of a Nigerian Makeup Brand.  One name will always spring to mind.

House of Tara is an institution in the industry. Not only as a brand but as an empowerment vehicle helping thousands of people to set up their own businesses through their distributors programme or makeup artistry training.

In 1993 Tara Fela-Durotoye founded Tara Makeovers, in 1998 she established House of Tara with her first makeup school opening in 2003.

Since then it’s been a non stop rise to the top.  They now have 20 stores around Nigeria, 15 of those having a training school attached to them.

You can find a full list of their stores here and more about their training courses here

We popped into the House of Tara head office in Lekki to have a makeover and play with the products.  If you missed out on our life instastory you can catch up with the video below.  🙂

Products Used:

Lola 

Skin: TM322 Full Coverage Foundation, Highlighting Concealer in Mrembo

Eyes – Margaret Ekpo and Queen Nana Palette, Retractable Pencil in 04 & 06

Cheeks: Blush Palette

Eyebrown Pencil: Dark Brown

Bronzer: Medium & Dark

Lips: Osomote Lip Pencil all over

Funmi

Face: TF 214 Medium Coverage & Powder Duo 44 &45

Concealer: Wuse

Cheeks: Blush Pallet

Eyeshadow: (check the video lol)

Eyebrown Pencil: Dark Brown

Bronzer: Medium & Dark

Lips: Afia, Adere, Kahina & Adoosh

The company has now grown beyond just producing and selling their own brand of makeup.  They’ve now moved into multi brand retail and are one of the only cosmetic companies in Nigeria to have such a large distribution channel.  In the last 3 years they’ve partnered with companies such as Maybelline New York and indigineous brands such as Vane Nail Polish, My Lash Extensions and now Taos Cosmetics.

Tara herself cannot any longer be simply described as a “makeup artist”, she’s a global face for Nigerian Beauty. She has appeared on CNN, Forbes and has been featured by many other international media houses as she is a powerhouse and a strong advocate for the #buynaija movement.

Unfortunatley with hard work and suceess there comes the problems that numerous brands face with counterfetting.   Alot of people don’t realize how much this problem can truly affect brands in Nigeria.  It’s not simply a matter of buying products cheaper because they look the same as the originals, the original is an orignal for a reason.  A brand is more than just a product. It’s years of hard work and dedication, it’ product and market research, it’s advertising and customer good will.  It’s someone’s dream that’s being stolen from them.  That’s before we even get into the issue of what ingredients the counterfiet products are using vs the real products and the dangers associated with this. It also takes money directly away from an already affordable brand that has supported the economy through the years and empowered others.

Brands have decided to take a step towards combatting the counterfiet market by working with NAFDAC and using the same sort of scrach code stickers you can find on alot of pharmacutical products.  Keep an eye out for the stickers and text the hidden code to the dedicated number on the sticker to confirm whether your product is genuine or not.    But in this age of online shopping and with alot of reputable stores, why take a chance, just shop directly with an authorised distributor and stay safe.

We’re giving away a fabulous goodie bag worth over N20,000 to one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter the competition is:

1. Make sure you’re following @houseoftara_intl and @thebfcollective
2. Answer this easy question on the giveaway image on our page “Name one of the House of Tara eyeshadow palettes used on Funmi’

Good luck!

#NaijaBrandsRock