The founder was a finance exec who watched her mom slather raw shea butter on everything — from baby bumps to burn scars. The kind of stuff you can’t buy at Sephora.
So she quit the suits, went back to Nigeria, and convinced a bunch of older women to share their family recipes. Epara started in her kitchen. Now it’s in London department stores. The irony? She didn’t want to make skincare at all — she wanted to prove Africa had luxury that didn’t need a European label to sell.
Revitalising Oil — $98 for 30ml. Claims to “redefine glow.” I rolled my eyes. Then I read the ingredient list and stopped rolling.
Absorbs in 11 seconds
No joke. I timed it. Sit on my face for 10 seconds and it’s gone — no slick, no sticky.
Smells like earth, not flowers
It’s not a perfume. It’s a whisper of herbs. My boyfriend asked if I was “cooking something.”
One drop = entire face
I use two for face + neck. The dropper is stingy on purpose — they know you don’t need more.
Photo: Content Pixie / Unsplash
No fillers. No fragrance cocktails. Just oils that have been used on African skin for centuries — but harvested ethically, not exploited. The difference is in the sourcing.
- Baobab Oil: Lighter than argan, sinks deep not just surface
- Marula: Vitamin C bomb that fades my acne scars in 2 weeks
- Kalahari Melon: Antioxidant shield that doesn’t clog pores
- Moringa: The unsung hero — it’s basically a dirt magnet that pulls pollution out
Photo: Natasha Kendall / Unsplash
It pours like liquid silk — thin, golden, almost watery. I was sure it would just slide off. Nope. Absorbed before I finished blinking. My skin felt… plump? Like a grape that drank too much water.
Week 3 hit and I got a zit. Panicked. But the oil didn’t feed it — it calmed it down faster than my usual spot treatment. Weirdest part? My makeup sits different now. Foundation used to separate on my nose by noon. Now it’s still there at 5pm. I’m mad it took me this long to try it.
Photo: Poko Skincare / Unsplash
My skin looks more alive — not shiny, not greasy, just… awake. Dark spots from old breakouts? Lighter. Pores? Smaller. But it didn’t fix my hormonal chin acne completely. Real talk.
Photo: Soheil Kmp / Unsplash
This isn’t a “clean beauty” trend grab. It’s a real oil from a brand that respects where ingredients come from — and my skin finally agrees.