I often hear stories of how people discovered their true career paths. For many creatives, it was pure luck — a single opportunity or a sudden moment of discovery that literally landed in their lap. Foyin Og speaks of a similar occurrence, an inkling that steered her away from fashion to beauty and has now led her to become one of South Africa’s most influential content creators.

She is the founder of #7days7faces — the acclaimed digital makeup movement that kindled community at a time of isolation and continues to spotlight South Africa’s awe-inspiring abundance of creative talent. We chat to her about her beginnings in media, transformation in the beauty industry, and how the Foyin Og brand has evolved into the powerhouse we know today. 

AMAKA: Let’s begin by chatting about your career, your entry into media, and how you cemented your brand in the beauty industry...

Foyin Og: My journey has been much longer than people would assume. I started in the blogging industry when a lot of content creators had their dot coms. While I was in high school, I launched my platform, The Dear Solo Blog. That formed the groundwork of what the Foyin Og brand is today. I was a fashion, pop-culture, and lifestyle blogger, and I began to grow in that space. In 2015, I moved to Cape Town, and around this time, Instagram came into play and began to overshadow the blogging world. Content creators now needed to have a strong Instagram presence and churn out content at a high pace, and as a broke student, that was something I literally couldn’t afford to do. The fashion blogging space took off far quicker than I could keep up with and this is when I delved into beauty. That year, I went to Nigeria for my cousin’s wedding, and that was when the Naija glam girls really started to show up — paying professional artists to do their makeup and gele styling. That was the first time I had that level of glam done to me, and I thought, you know what? That is a skill I want to develop and grow into a source of income. I eventually started a Youtube channel and from then on focused wholeheartedly on beauty. That led to me returning to Nigeria to study at House of Tara Makeup School. Once I got my qualification in makeup artistry, I went back to South Africa, where I practiced on clients and really got into the content creation world. From there, everything then kind of blossomed, and by the end of 2019, I was a full-time influencer. 2020, as troublesome as it was for all of us, it was the year that gave me a platform and the opportunity to build my community to the level that it is now.

A lot has happened since your early days at Seventeen...

OMG, I forgot to touch on that!

Seventeen really paved the way for the rest of this to happen as it pre-dates the first official blog. I was on the Seventeen Style Council from 2011 to 2012, and that’s when I met some incredible creatives like Nuzhah Jacobs and Janine Jellars, who is now a mentor of mine. This is also what enabled me to get my foot in the door and later in 2013, I interned at Seventeen before the publication RIP’ed. The exposure I got from it gave me the foundational network that I have today and vital experience in styling, TV, and print. It really was a huge stepping stone that created relationships that I still have to this day.

I always say that our generation of content creators and editors started at a pivotal time in the media space when conventional publishing was approaching its demise as digital media gained momentum. South Africa does tend to be a little late with the adoption of change or trends but we finally saw transformation with the influence of bloggers, Youtubers and Instagram content creators who are now rightfully recognized as leading voices in fashion and beauty — a title no longer reserved for magazines.

And this was super important. As you said, our consumers and landscape tend to fall behind, particularly in traditional industries, but the internet definitely democratized this space for us. Even though we didn’t have the language and the terminology for influencers, there were still people blogging, creating influential content, and building up the local digital community that creators can now leverage and monetize. Back then, it was so frustrating because there wasn’t the infrastructure to support the type of influence content creators had, as we didn’t really know what it was yet. But we were still forward-thinking enough to be in the right place at the right time so that when consumers did catch up, we were there and ready to capitalize on it. 

To expand on this, you could say that many of us had a front-row seat view of the changing industry.

And we forced the change to an extent. Because we had such big platforms, we were able to vocalize our frustrations in a way other consumers and other people didn’t have the words for. And when consumers could see it through someone else’s expression or visual cues, they supported it, and this drove the change that we see today.

This makes me think of the phrase ‘the face of beauty’ and the agenda that it drove. Then the industry had that pivotal aha moment, the realization of just how problematic that expression was, and we finally saw much-needed changes in representation both in front of the lens and behind the scenes. What’s one change that has stood out for you since your introduction to the media space?

Definitely, what you mentioned about the face of beauty — I think that’s the perfect way to phrase it because back then, the industry did have a very particular face of beauty. Now that we’re in the late 90s and Y2K nostalgia, you notice the agenda a lot clearer. Even if there were attributes that you didn’t find attractive, these were the images and words reinforced and shoved down our throats every single day, almost to the point that you believed it. One change that you can see we have now is ‘faces’ of beauty. There’s no longer a single, defined standard of beauty that everyone needs to aspire to. Yes, you can argue that the age of Instagram has altered our perception of beauty and has created this aspirational face. But you can also say that this is not the only standard of beauty that exists. We now get to see different skin tones and skin types — people with acne, people with scarring, people with genetic conditions, people with albinism, dark-skinned girls, and light-skinned skin girls. There are many different faces of beauty, and I think this is so important as many of us just needed to see that differences exist. Knowing that a single perception of beauty isn’t the only one that’s deemed beautiful has made it so much easier to exist in this world. Yes, our industry is superficial by nature (it is very much what you see on the surface), but I like that nowadays we can at least say that there is no such thing as a good or bad appearance. This is how you are and how you can feel better about yourself instead of being made to feel unworthy, which is what we got fed a lot of back then, and I feel like we’re all still unlearning the shame and negativity that came with that.

Speaking of the many different faces of beauty, can you talk us through the #7days7faces movement? What is it, and what was the thinking behind it when you introduced it in April last year?

#7days7faces was another one of those lockdown challenges. It was the Don’t Rush, banana bread of quarantine that just managed to prevail because of the amazing community it has created. At the very beginning of lockdown, when they announced that it would only be 21 days, massive LOL, Kay Ngonyama, another beauty influencer, planned on doing a face of makeup for every day of lockdown. It was called #21BeatsforKay. At the time, because lockdown was such a whirlwind for me, I did not have the physical, mental and emotional capacity to commit to 21 days of makeup, but I still wanted to create content. So I tried to think of something that could exist outside of occasion makeup and help ignite creativity and inspire others. So that’s how #7days7faces was born — it was 7 days of makeup with 7 different faces according to the prompts you had to create. The first one was on 17 April 2020, and it was very small. It was just me and a handful of followers as I had a small following at the time, but it was well-received. The second one is when I started to gain some press and coverage on it, and people began to take notice. The third one is when I can say that the challenge began to go viral, and in the round that followed, Netflix reached out to me and said they want to get in on the challenge for their new show called Bridgerton. That was the biggest deal of my life! I can still remember the anxiety going through that ordeal, and that happened in January 2021. With each round, it’s just gotten bigger and better, and you can see the growth in people’s talent and their production levels because they’re investing time, money and even taking leave days to execute these looks. It’s become something that people look forward to and a time where we all come together to hype each other up and learn something new.

Online challenges are usually short-lived, but you succeeded in building something anticipated by beauty enthusiasts. It also created this online environment that is so welcoming — a safe and empowering space that’s doing something much bigger than the standard challenge. People have shared how #7days7faces has boosted their self-esteem. How does it make you feel when you read these personal accounts? Did you ever imagine it could impact people to this degree?

Definitely not. I never thought that it would have such a deep connection with people. During the lockdown, it was actually what we needed. It gave people purpose, and it gave them something to focus on. In the midst of all the unemployment, death and disease all around you, you get swallowed up in anxiety, which can produce a level of executive dysfunction where you physically and mentally cannot do anything because you’re so stressed out. But for seven days, you get to focus on something else, and as trivial as it may seem, that distraction was so important for people. And the affirmations that come within the community are so impactful. We’re all doing this together, uplifting and supporting each other — whether you’re a beginner or a pro-MUA, everyone is there to encourage you and hype you up. It really gives you that boost that helps you make it through the next few months or the next challenge. The level of interaction and community it’s provided is something that we’ve been missing in our collectivism as a society in the past year. So that is definitely one of the most unexpected and incredible outcomes from this challenge, and I will keep doing this as long as people want it. As long as there are people who demand this safe space, I will keep churning out ideas and pitching to brands to make it happen.

Social media can be so toxic at times but what’s been so beautiful to see is how this challenge has become the confidence-booster that many need...

It just gives you the warm and fuzzies, and it doesn’t necessarily have to be anything deeper than that. It's literally a feel-good makeup challenge and right now, we really need to do what makes us feel good, and this is one of those things. I’m very humbled and happy to have been able to introduce something that makes people feel this way, so let's continue to do what makes us feel good!

What would you like #7days7faces to be known for in the future?

For its positive impact and the safe space it’s created — a space that makeup creatives have built up. Community-driven and community-led, it's for makeup lovers of every ethnicity, race, sexual identity, gender. It is your space to come as you are and create beautiful work, learn something new about yourself through someone else's art and find new creatives to follow. Community is truly at the heart of this challenge and that’s what I want it to be remembered for. 

Beauty Confidential

African beauty content creators you’re loving right now?

Kutlwano Pride Segale and Mbali Christina are incredible. They have the steady hands that I wish I had — they could be surgeons, their graphic liner is next-level. Also, Jemma’s Makeup — she’s only 16 years old, but she creates such beautiful looks, and her Tik Tok is amazing. There’s just a lot of upcoming and young creatives on the block, and Tik Tok is definitely the spot for them.

One beauty item you can’t leave the house without?

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant. It gives everything it's supposed to give.

The best purchase you ever made?

My Versace sunglasses. I love those sunglasses to death, but I never wear them because I’m scared I’ll break them. I bought them as a New Year’s gift to myself after working through the entire holiday period. So after that, I was like, girl, you deserve something nice — go get yourself some Medusa’s!

A beauty hack you swear by?

Setting spray on a foundation brush, especially when you want full-coverage that’s long-lasting.

Your favorite setting spray?

Urban Decay All Nighter, hands down. Maybelline’s Lasting Fix is a good second place.

Three beauty items worth splurging on? 

Foundation, eye shadow palette and a good moisturiser.

Your dream client?

Tiwa Savage. She has the most perfect face. 

And lastly, what’s next for you and your brand?

Whatever God decides. I’m in a new city, new space and opportunities are absolutely endless so I actually have no clue what is next but I’m super excited to see it.