By Christy Anyanwu
Toke Makinwa is a Nigerian radio personality, television host, vlogger, lifestyle entrepreneur, actress and author.
Toke is known for hosting ‘The Late Morning Show’ on Rhythm 93.7FM and for her YouTube vlog series ‘Toke Moments’.
She released her book “On Becoming” in November 2016. Recently, she launched three premium luxury perfumes in her name. In this interview, the style celebrity relived her journey into her new craft. She also delved into other issues.
How did your journey into perfumes begin?
I fell in love with perfumes when I was in the University of Lagos. A guy gave me perfume on Valentine’s Day. I felt that’s a niche perfume, the Flowerbomb. I remember I was in the Arts Department, University of Lagos, and everytime I walked into class, everyone would tell me ‘You smell nice,’ and that made me really feel good. There is nothing that fires me like the compliments that say ‘you smell nice.’ That just did it for me. That was how my relationship with perfumes started, and three and a half years ago, the idea was born. Before the business came to light, a friend once told me this: ‘Is it that in your other world they told you that you smell’? That was simply because I buy and buy perfumes. So far, I have won 80 per cent of my friends over to the love of perfumes. They care more about the scent they wear, they now know nose, they are now collectors of perfumes.
Is there any personality that inspires you, someone like an icon you admire in any way or form to do the things that you do?
I think there are quite a number of people that I’m really inspired by their journey. But I would definitely say Kim Kardashian and Rihanna. I absolutely love them. For Kim, obviously, she has overcome every obstacle that was thrown her way and somehow she has turned her lemons to lemonade. I feel that resonates deeply with me, I just love how business-savvy she is. I love that she is that underdog people don’t necessarily think much of. If you see her you think of fashion. She loves to appear naked on the Internet, but she has built an empire. She’s a billionaire doing things that she loves. Also, Rihanna, for someone who is from Barbados topping the charts all over the world, not necessarily with her music, but always thinking more. I always say to my colleagues in the industry, God’s willing and God being faithful to me, as hard as I work, 10 to 15 years left of being the baby girl for life, what then happens afterwards? I love my career. I have evolved from being a musician to being a businesswoman and now I create products that are closer to the grassroots as well. Everyone will be able to buy things, from lip gloss to shoes. They should say, “she is just very versatile.” I think I admire that. In Nigeria, who do I look up to as a business person? No one is doing what I’m doing. I pat myself on the back.
Does your star quality pay off now, especially with how people have been attracted to the brand?
I don’t really see myself as a star because I feel like a girl who is experiencing life and who is doing the things I love. I have failed at so many things and I won at so many things as well. With the ones that I win, of course, I blow the trumpet louder than the ones that I don’t. So, I think, as a business woman, it’s never really about being a star, it’s really about including people on a journey. I could talk to everyone about what they think about my perfume, what they think we could do better. I’m also open to listening, as long as it’s constructive and it’s not from a bitter heart. It will shock a lot of people because, anytime you read about Toke Makinwa, she’s doing something crazy and people just think she’s this girl who’s going through life. I’m a thorough businesswoman.
I have three people on my mind when I’m creating this brand: the people who love me, the people who love the personality who would jump on anything you create, and there are those who are curious, who don’t necessarily care about who made the perfume. Then lastly, there are those who want you to fail. They are buying it because they want to talk down on the brand, “you see, it is rubbish,” they would say.
As a celebrity, do you combine three of these perfumes you have founded?
I’m a layer girl. I believe that the best way to experience a bottle of perfume is by layering them. People go through different seasons. For me, wearing perfume goes with my mood. There are days when you feel lighter, you just want those floral scents that transcend and translate the way you are feeling. There are days when you feel like a bad bitch, I walk into a room, I want everyone to know that I’m there, then I choose one of the brands. And there are days when I just want to feel like I own the space. I am cool. I’m also deep. I want to be immersed in a perfume. I want to go strong, go confident. I wear another of the perfume. If you are a real perfume lover you go through seasons where you wear a particular scent and, for me, it changes over time. When I wake up in the morning and I’m really excited, I want to wear floral. I want to walk into a room and I want people to hug me and feel the essence of how I feel. I actually like layering because of the fact that people can’t pick what you are wearing. That’s why I layer a lot.
Someone said you are one of the best perfume collectors around. How many bottles have you got?
I have stopped counting. I have crossed over, I don’t know if I should say this out, maybe 1,200. I give out a lot as well. There are scents that I had five years ago. There are scents that I have that are nostalgic to me. There are scents that are gifts to me that I never want to give away.
I’m a girl who will spend six hours perfume-shopping. My friends are going for clothes, shoes, and I tell them to meet me at the perfume shop and I get lost there because I love to smell. Like I go to Harrods and I ask them what is new. They talk to me about perfumes and the person who makes the perfumes, what it smells like. My brand is for every woman and man who wants to smell good, and those who love to collect perfumes as well.
How do you spend your day?
My day starts early. I’m currently filming three movies back to back and it’s switching between characters, which can be a bit mental. So, I try to really not do much socially, because one of the characters I’m playing is really going through a lot so I try to stay in character. A lot of people have not heard from me in a bit because I’m just working, and I love it.
