Phoina Wambui, a make-up artist and founder of Phoina beauty products.
Phoina Wambui certainly knows how to turn lemons into lemonade. That's how she built her beauty empire, Phoina Beauty.
She presents herself as confident, eloquent and classy. Yet, in some circles, people still struggle to believe that the 36-year-old built this business alone. She is not bothered by their doubts, nor by societal pressure to get married.
I studied journalism at university and even practised it a little at Pamoja Radio. I was a news anchor, and we mostly covered human interest stories, particularly from places like Kibera.
The job wasn’t easy. I’ve always been a shy person, and being on camera makes me uncomfortable. I have had to adapt to the demands of my job, but I still find it challenging.
Nai Rich cast Phoina Tosha poses for a photo during the launch of the new reality show on Showmax on August 30, 2024, at the JW Marriott Hotel.
I had always thought that I would build a career in the media, following in the footsteps of Catherine Kasavuli or Julie Gichuru. They were the female news anchors I admired growing up.
After leaving Pamoja Radio, I briefly joined K24 TV. I tried a few things, then realised that I didn’t have a future in journalism, so I quit.
I then got a job at a tracking company and started doing makeup work at weekends. My monthly salary at the company was 17,000 Kenyan shillings, but I earned far more on weekends doing makeup. I once did a job where I was paid 25,000 shillings for one day's work, so I quit my job to focus on makeup full-time. That was in 2015.
Starting out was very easy for me. I quickly built a name for myself by creating content on Facebook, which was the go-to platform back then. The beauty industry wasn't as saturated as it is now — only a handful of us were doing makeup professionally online.
In fact, Steve Kobi was pretty much the only male makeup artist that anyone knew of.
When I first started out, I rented a three-bedroom house. I lived in one room and converted the other two into make-up studios.
From LeftRev Lucy Natasha, Salome Njeri, Makeup Artist Phoina Tosha and Musician Bahati poses for the picture on Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at Sebuleni Centre located on Riara Road, Ngong road, Nairobi. Phoina Tosha launched her cosmetic line known as Phoina Beauty Cosmetics.
Over time, things became a little chaotic because clients were constantly coming and going. Even the landlord became concerned. So, in 2016, I had no choice but to open my salon. Ten years later, I opened a beauty school with 70 students. However, my dream is to expand the school and cater for more students, perhaps up to 500.
Other than my mother, I don’t have any business partners yet, but I am open to partnerships and could even franchise my brand, Phiona Beauty. In fact, people have already approached me wanting to open salons under the Phiona Beauty name, but we haven't reached an agreement yet.
Interestingly, some people feel that I couldn't have done it on my own. I have been consistent. It took me ten years to start the school — where was this sponsor all this time? I have been running this business since 2014 and have worked hard for 12 years, so why shouldn't I be successful?
Yes, I am open to marriage, but if I don't get married, it won't be the end of the world. I honestly don't care. Life goes on. I know I might offend some people by saying this, but that’s just how I feel. Marriage is not a badge of honour. It's not an achievement.
I once lived with someone for seven years, and it felt like marriage to me, but sadly, it didn't work out. I lost everything I had built up. I was basically left with nothing and had to start again. I accepted my loss and started afresh, and here I am. So, as I said, marriage is the least of my concerns.
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