Helen Adeleye is one of the finest and most creative Nigerian make-up artists doing the country proud in the United States of America. She is the founder and CEO of Helena Adele, USA, a cosmetics and skincare company located at the popular Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The company offers total beauty packages such as Make-up, Facials, Gele (Head ties) services. Its services are readily available in the entire state of Texas, Oklahoma and Upper Louisiana.
Adeleye is multifaceted in that she fits well into many roles of life. She is a wife, mother, medical sonographer, Operations Manager and TV Personality for the popular Bankytv (USA). She is also an actor and Cosmetologist. Despite the ever-challenging nature of roles of being a wife, mother, career enthusiast and businesswoman, it is evident that her passion for creating value in the lives of women has kept her going. Her zeal to help women express true beauty and improve self-esteem and confidence in women is unrivalled.
Adeleye has worked for several top make-up brands in Nigeria and in the US, bringing smiles to countless faces across the globe. In 2018, she launched her product line in the United States with the dream of creating products that would not just temporarily cover imperfections, but permanently improve skin conditions, leaving her clients flawless and beautiful.
Recently, the pretty looking beauty entrepreneur thought it wise of extending the tentacles of her already flourishing business to Nigeria, her homeland. She is of the opinion that Nigerian women are fashionable and need quality products like the ones she offers to meet their tastes. City People reporter, JAMIU ABUBAKAR and Photo Journalist, ABDULRASHEED SANNI recently interviewed her.
Can you tell us how you came about Helena Cosmetics?
Helena Cosmetics was born out of the desire to help women express themselves through beauty. I pay tribute to the inward appearance and the outward appearance of women. I tell women; it’s not just enough being beautiful but the confidence and the power of a woman come from within. When you know that you are truly beautiful inwardly, it’s easier to go out there and take over the world. We are in business to help women express that true beauty knowing that they are a beautiful miracle and they express it in every way they can.
For how long have you been in the beauty business?
I have been in business for over 10years. I started as a make-up artist. First I started by loving business. I love doing business. So I went to a business school. I love skincare, I love Make-up, and I wanted to do something to help women express their beauty. So I have been in business for 10years but Helena Adele product line started in 2018.
Tell us how you started Helena Adele Cosmetics?
I have always loved to have my product line but the dream came true when I had skin issues after giving birth and I was looking for a perfect brand to help clean my skin. It’s a little bit difficult because I tried different brands and they didn’t work. I tried everywhere and I worked with some professionals to make my dream come true. So now I have a wide range of products, from skincare to cosmetics to foundation, powder, lipsticks and pretty much anything you need. For skincare, we have a series of moisturizers and we are still making more. We came out with the face wash, light creams and all that. So Helena Adele Cosmetics is basically about total and complete beauty. Also, I have dabbled into something new. I added a new feather to my hat.
Tell us about it?
One of my dreams is to share information because the information is power. I have worked with a lot of clients and always wanted to know how to do things. In as much as we, the cosmetologists are professionals, not all can do all we do. So I started on a journey to help women to break down the step by step to beauty. This is what I birthed late last year. Actually, in December, I launched a book. It is called “Expressing True Beauty” which is our slogan at Helen Adele Beauty. The book is a step by step guide for women to learn the basics of make-up especially for beginners and it entails the rudiments to make up. Everybody can watch YouTube and Instagram and learn. Not everybody can do that still. You know the videos are really fast and you need to stop and I felt that I need to put that in a book. The book talked about skincare, the book talked about a healthy diet for glowing skin, your facials, facial massage. So this is one of the major things that women really want to know. I have worked with different clients. Many of them really want to learn how to apply make-up. They just don’t want you to apply the make-up for them, they also want to be able to do it themselves. I see them travel from state to state, they can’t take their make up artist everywhere. I mean especially the ones they have trusted for years. I took it upon myself to put my information together and break down the steps and guide for them to apply make-up daily; everyday makeup and different types of make-up. I also went ahead telling women the tools to make up. Most of the time, even for us, the professional make-up artists, if you don’t have the right tools, you can mess up when you are doing that face. So I broke down all the tools to make-up; the brushes, how to take care of your brushes, the right case to put your brushes and all that. The book displayed pictures of different types of make-ups. This really wowed my clients because we started from the natural look to every day, to glam, to wed bridals and then avant-garde. And avant-garde is like going out of the way. So if you want to be vava- boom, if you want to be extra, the book is all-encompassing everything beauty. I love the fact that it also talked about diet, and healthy eating, the new trends, the protein, the carbohydrates that we need to grow radiant skin. Beauty is not just the artworks coverage. You need to nourish from inside. I am not a nutritionist but I just love to get information from here and there. I launched the book on December 11. It was a success. A lot of women turned up and we sold out. The book sold out that very day. I am always ready to share my information with the world and with Nigerians. Lots of women want more saying; “I want to pimp my face and do my make-up”. They want to know how they can do it themselves and they need information that is going to help them out on getting beautiful and glowing skin. The book is on every platform. It’s on Amazon and it’s going to be on Jumia.
How would you compare doing your business in the US and doing it in Nigeria?
I would say the business of skincare in the US is not much different from that of Nigeria. I was here in Nigeria before I travelled to the US, I worked for different companies here. Nigerian women love to make up. They love looking beautiful and they are extraordinary when it comes to beauty. They go all out. I have been following the trends on Instagram and on YouTube. You will see that there is a turnover which is totally different and new. Being an entrepreneur and bringing my business down to Nigeria, I am expecting a lot of competition, there is already a big competition and a big market for the beauty industry. But the industry is big and there’s always room for everybody. I believe I can be a success in Nigeria.
What do you think would give you an edge over competitors in the Nigerian market?
Our products are of good quality, they are made in the USA. I am a Make-up artist. I’m not just one woman that wants to sell make-up because there’s money in it. This is what I do for a living. I know the best products, I know the right products for you and I am here to tell you what is going to give you that flawless skin. I also understand the business of makeup or beauty. I have been in it for over 12 years now. I have worked for different top brands from Nigeria to America. Right now, my products are being shipped to different parts of the world like Canada, the USA, Australia, and just to name a few. This product is going to be a success in Nigeria. I am looking forward to everybody embracing these products. It is not new but it is new in Nigeria. Not entirely new because I have been getting requests from prospective vendors and people that would like to get the products and supply them in the market. They said a lot of good things about the products. I am looking forward to working with women who would like to be our distributors in Nigeria. Our products are on Jumia and we are trying to work with one-on-one individuals because I feel like I want to knock on doors. I want to help do women empowerment so that my products would also help women who are looking for new businesses to go into. To be financially free, I think this would be a good business to join.
How do you intend to achieve this?
Last year we created the Beauty Ambassadors. So we are looking for ambassadors out there. I’m going to quote the Bible where Jesus says; “Go Ye into the world and make disciples of all nations.” We are going into the world. We are looking for beauty ambassadors. The products are embodied with what would transform the everyday woman. So when you pick up that pencil facing the mirror, when you pick up that lipstick that says you are a beautiful miracle, you have no doubts in your mind that you are. We are all about women empowerment, we are all about changing lives through our product line. So you are going to pick up that powder that says you are loved. A lot of women are going through a lot and when you are doing make-up and you are not happy, but when you look at that product that tells you; you are loved, you are empowered, you are a beautiful miracle, you step out there and take over the world. I am really excited about this journey of my life.
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