Funmi Fetto was sick of luxury skincare pretending melanin-rich skin didn’t exist. So she built her own brand from her London kitchen table — and now it’s in the hands of Naomi Campbell’s makeup artist.
That’s the thing about Epara — it didn’t start with a marketing focus group. It started with a Nigerian woman whose skin turned ashy after every “premium” moisturizer she tried. The irony wasn’t lost on her: the richest botanicals on earth were growing in her homeland, yet the industry kept feeding her synthetic sludge.
Revitalizing Face Oil. $48 for 30ml. The claim that hooked me: “formulated specifically for melanin-rich skin” — not just “suitable for.” That’s a massive difference, and they know it.
Cold-Pressed Base
Squalane and marula oil — no cheap fillers, no mineral oil pretending to be luxury.
Absorption Tech
Sinks in within 60 seconds. No greasy film that turns your pillowcase into a crime scene.
Glass Dropper
Sounds basic, but the dropper actually measures the right amount. No more glug-glug disasters.
Photo: Mariia Shalabaieva / Unsplash
This is where it gets smart. Instead of throwing 20 ingredients at you, they picked four African botanicals that each do a specific job. The formulation is thin — but targeted. That’s rare in luxury skincare.
- Baobab Oil: Deep hydration that doesn’t clog — the moisture equivalent of a weighted blanket
- Tamarind Extract: Gentle exfoliation that fades dark spots without burning your face off
- African Potato: Calms inflammation and stops that tight, itchy feeling after washing
- Yangu Oil: Antioxidant shield that fights pollution — essential if you live in a city
Photo: Viva Luna Studios / Unsplash
It’s a dry oil. Not greasy, not watery — somewhere in that Goldilocks zone where it feels like a luxurious serum but behaves like a shield. First drop spreads across your whole cheek. That’s how you know it’s concentrated.
By week two, my skin stopped feeling tight after my morning cleanse. That tightness I’d normalized for years? Just… gone. Unexpected highlight: it smells like earth and citrus, not chemical perfume. I actually look forward to applying it.
Photo: Poko Skincare / Unsplash
My dark spots didn’t vanish. But they’re visibly lighter — like someone turned the contrast down on them. The glow though? Unreal. My makeup sits different now, like it’s blending into skin instead of sitting on top.
Photo: Poko Skincare / Unsplash
I’ve tested 47 face oils. This is the first one that understood melanin-rich skin isn’t a problem to solve — it’s a standard to meet. Epara nailed it.