Yemi Alade showed up to Laura Beauty Store in Lekki Phase 1 last week wearing a custom M.S.O Lagos look, and she brought half of Lagos with her. The occasion was the first-ever pop-up experience for her beauty brand, YEM Beauty, and the guest list said everything: Don Jazzy, Mo Abudu, Kate Henshaw, Nancy Isime, Osas Ighodaro, Toolz, Waje, and Bolanle Olukanni were all in the building to celebrate the brand's range of matte lipsticks making its debut.
The afternoon had a full celebration energy, with Luc Belaire pouring both its signature bottles and 1.5L Magnum bottles across the room. The large-format Magnums were described as an exclusive preview of what Belaire plans to roll out more widely across Nigeria, so consider that a little hint of things to come.
Alade was candid about why the brand exists at all. In her own words: "I wanted products that truly matched my skin tone, enhanced my natural beauty, and could keep up with my lifestyle. When I couldn't find that consistently, I decided to create it." That origin story, a working performer solving her own problem, runs through everything YEM Beauty is putting out.
The collection centres on matte liquid lipsticks and nourishing lip glosses, built around a promise of inclusivity and durability. The brand's tagline, "color the world," frames it as something bigger than a product line. Whether it lives up to that is the question the beauty community will be watching closely.
YEM Beauty is available now at yembeauty.com and in-store at Laura Beauty Store, Lekki.
Originally published by Bella Naija Beauty.