KRÈME CHATS WITH INI DIMA-OKOJIE. ACTOR.
June 11, 2017
The first time I saw Ini Dima-Okojie on the Silver Screen, I was impressed. Subsequently, I saw her on various talk shows/interviews and I was even more impressed with how approachable she seemed. When she agreed to participate I was ecstatic. Grace, confidence and passion are a few words that come to mind when describing Ini Dima-Okojie. She came across as a girl's girl; warm ,easy to talk to and supportive. Her style is exceptional ; she is always put together on and off the red carpet and carries each piece of clothing effortlessly. Thank you so much for being honest and warm. It was a fun chat.
What is your skin type?
Combination (Normal/oily)
How important is skincare to you? Its super, super important to me. First of all, growing up, I watched my older sister deal with acne for a long time. At the time I was fine, but in my final year at University I suddenly had a bad case of acne. It was not a couple bumps here and there, I am talking about my entire face covered with massive bumps. I didn’t know what caused it so I had to take time off school, go home and see a dermatologist. She put me on treatment and some at home medication. it was a prominent period in my life, and from then on skincare has been major to me.
Being in the public eye and on camera, do you feel pressure to have flawless skin? Hmmm, there is a general quest for perfection in the industry, but I don’t know what that is. It is not realistic to me. Besides, I am not perfect anyway (laughs jokingly). I just try to take care of myself the best I can, but I think perfection is boring. In fact, whenever I am shooting, one beautiful pimple has to come out; it’s a staple, so there is no perfection there (laughs). I am not seeking for flawlessness, that’s just not a real person to me.
Take me through your skincare routine AM and PM AM For bath soap, I like to use any brand of black soap, or anything with Vitamin C.
CLEANSE: I cleanse my face with a brand called Koee, its worked great for me so far. My dermatologist told me to let my skin air dry and it’s a tip I have practiced for years and it has made a difference.
TONE: I use an at home mixture of apple cider vinegar and water. This has worked for me better than any toner I have tried in the past.
TREATMENT: Eye cream – My eyes get puffy so I use Anew eye cream
Serum – After I apply the eyes cream, I apply a vitamin serum called serumtology. I love it. I would recommend it to everyone.
MOISTURISE: I moisturize my skin daily. But with moisturizers, I am still in search of the perfect moisturizer, so I switch brands from time to time.
SPF: I always use SPF, I swear by it. I use this product called the burn out SPF 30. It’s funny some people tell me SPF makes them darker, and I am like honey go under this sun in Nigeria without SPF and your face will burn (laughs). PM
I use a make-up remover to take off make up and repeat my AM routine.
WEEKLY TREATMENTS I exfoliate once a week using a scrub, but my thing is masques. I love to mess around with different types of masques, but the ones I swear by are
- The egg white mask – Amazing
- The Body shop honey and oat mask – this is awesome because it is a 2-in-1 mask. It is a scrub and a mask in one.
- And finally, my little secret is this GLAMGLOW (flash mud brightening treatment) mask I use. It is the best! I use it before any event, and it works magic.
The skin on your body glows, do you have a body skincare routine? My body is so low maintenance, I either use coconut oil or Cetaphil moisturizing lotion.
One skincare product you can't live without Oh my gosh, that’s hard! It will be my hand cream. I cannot believe that’s what I am picking, but I cannot stand having dry hands. It will have to be my Neutrogena hand cream. It is so good, my mum and I have used it for years.
If you could take an acting class with someone who would it be? It would be Meryl Streep. She is an amazing actress and I would love to understand her process. In fact, if I could have a ten-minute conversation with her on her process, I would take that.
What character in a movie would you love to play? There isn’t one kind of character, I would love to play them all. I am always very happy when I read inspiring, different roles. For example, when I was in the movie Northeast, I was excited to play someone from the Hausa tribe. I had to learn to speak Hausa for a scene in the movie. I am very open to exploring new characters.
You have amazing style, who is your style icon? I love Marilyn Monroe. I love her confidence and love how she carried clothes.
What is your life's motto? Life is 10 % what happens to you and 90% how you react to it?
Beauty is…. Embracing all of you; your imperfections, your weakness, it is everything you are.
Whose beauty inspires you? Chimamanda Adichie; I love her so much. I love her strength and her spirit. Another beauty that inspires me is Rita Dominic. I met her once, but not properly, and she is so nice. She has this aura about her that is so gentle and welcoming. Advice to readers that want to become actors.
I would say hold on to your dream because it’s not an easy ride. The fact is actors get rejected 90% of the time, but that should not deter you. Keep trying, and when your stars begin to align even you would not realize how it’s happening.
One skincare tip you would share with us For those who have acne, try this product called acne.org. Its affordable, and it’s something that saved my sisters life. My sister had sensitive skin. She tried everything, but nothing worked except this product. Now she is acne free to an extent, and even I use it. So, if you have acne try this product, but please give it time to work.
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